Carla Esparza to undergo surgery, likely out 6 to 8 months
Carla Esparza’s manager Brian Butler of Suckerpunch Entertainment confirmed the injury and surgery to FOX Sports on Monday.
Carla Esparza was the first ever women’s strawweight champion, but lost her belt to Joanna Jedrzejczyk and now will need to deal with a long layoff for shoulder surgery before trying to earn her way back to another title fight:
Former UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza will have to delay her attempted charge back to the title due to shoulder surgery that will keep the “Ultimate Fighter” winner on the shelf for approximately the next six to eight months.
Esparza’s manager Brian Butler of Suckerpunch Entertainment confirmed the injury and surgery to FOX Sports on Monday.
According to her manager, Esparza suffered the injury in her fight with Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 185 in March, but didn’t feel it was severe enough to warrant surgery at the time.
Following the conclusion of the fight, Esparza knew something was wrong with her shoulder right away, so she allowed the injury time to heal and recover.
She began rehabilitating her shoulder to plan her return to action, but the ultimate diagnosis was that Esparza needed surgery.