Former UFC champion Carla Esparza has revealed that she and her husband Matthew are expecting another child.
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Esparza, known as Cookie Monster during her fighting days, provided the update with a post on Instagram. A photo showed her, Matthew, and their son sitting on a couch together. She had a visible baby bump.
They also had a sign in hand that said, "We've got a cookie baking." The sign revealed that this will be a baby boy and that the due date is in December 2026.
"We've got another Cookie Monster on board making his grand entrance in December 2026! We are so excited to grow our family," she wrote in the caption of the post. "P.s. Thanks to all the fans for the Cookie Monster dolls!"
Esparza, 38, spent her professional career competing in the strawweight division in two different promotions. She fought on Team Oyama, and she made history multiple times.
Back in 2013, she became the first ever 115-pound champion in the Invicta Fighting Championships. She accomplished this by defeating Bec Rawlings by unanimous decision. This served as her third consecutive win in the promotion, and it led into her competing in The Ultimate Fighter 20.
This season of the reality television show featured Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez as the head coaches. Esparza fought for Pettis alongside Randa Markos, Joanne Calderwood, Alex Chambers, Jessica Penne, Felice Herrig, Justine Kish, and Aisling Daly.
The season featured defeating Penne in the semifinal round. She then defeated Rose Namajunas in the TUF 20 finale to became the UFC's first-ever 115-pound champion.
Esparza lost her championship belt three months later in UFC 185. She lost to Joanna Jedrzejczyk by KO/TKO. However, she earned the right to fight for it once again by going 8-3 in her next 11 fights.
She faced off with Namajunas in a title rematch in May 2022, and she took back the belt with a split decision victory.
Esparza fought two more times in the promotion before retiring. She lost her championship belt to Zhang Weili in November 2022. She then lost to Tecia Pennington in Oct. 2024.
The fighter known as Cookie Monster retired with a 20-8 professional record and two stints as the champion. She has since moved on with her life while focusing on her family, which will expand in December.
