Carla Esparza retirement rumor clarified by former champion

Despite recent reports, former two-time UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza has not retired.

Esparaz is currently out on maternity leave following the birth of her first child in September. But on Jan. 23, a tweet was made that alluded to Esparza's removal of the UFC roster.

UFC Roster Watch is an automated Twitter account that tweets when UFC fighters are added or removed from the rankings. Many times the removal tweet is the first sign that a fighter has been cut or retired.

Sometimes it just means they have been removed due to a period of inactivity, which is why Esparza thinks she was removed.

"I keep receiving messages so I wanted to clear it up. Maybe I was removed for inactivity. I am slowly biding my time and building my body and pelvic floor back up according to my PT’s recommendation," she wrote on Instagram on Jan. 27.

Carla Esparza says she's not retired: 'Just trying to have an intelligent approach to my comeback'

"During the postpartum period there is relaxin and progesterone in the joints and their surrounding structures (especially since I am exclusively breastfeeding) which causes a slackening of the ligaments and can greatly increase the chance of injury during training. Just trying to have an intelligent approach to my comeback and do everything in my power to avoid an injury setback."

The photo attached to her announcement also reads, "rumors not true. I have not retired."

She hasn't fought since she lost her title to Weili Zhang in November 2022. Before that, she was on a six-fight winning streak, including a controversial win over Rose Namajunas to secure the title for a second time.