Former UFC champion Carla Esparza was showered with boos after she upset Alexa Grasso in a razor-thin decision Saturday in Mexico City.

Esparza (15-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) picked up her second consecutive victory in the division where she once held UFC gold by defeating Grasso (11-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) via majority decision in a fight that pitted her takedowns and top control against the striking of the Mexican up-and-comer. The judges ultimately favored the former, giving “The Cookie Monster” the win by scores of 28-28, 29-28 and 29-28.

The women’s strawweight bout was the UFC on ESPN+ 17 co-main event at Mexico City Arena.

Esparza earned the victory after somehow not submitting to a deep armbar in the third round, which bent her arm backwards.

It was evident from the outset that Grasso had the speed advantage. Esparza made up for it with power, though, answering back in the exchanges with overhands and hooks. Grasso worked around her jab, trying to push forward and apply pressure. At about the midway point of the round, Esparza exploded into her first takedown attempt. She couldn’t do much before Grasso got to her feet, but it didn’t deter the former champ from going for more takedowns. Grasso got up from each one rather unharmed, though, and in the closing seconds teed off on Esparza with some head-snapping shots.

The crowd was heavy in Grasso’s favor going into the second round. Esparza didn’t care, though, as she waited less than 45 seconds to shoot for her first takedown, which turned into a big success. Esparza held the position for a few minutes, working ground-and-pound as Grasso desperately tried to scramble into a submission or get-up. She tried to tie up Esparza and convince the referee to stand them up, but Jason Herzog wasn’t willing. Esparza attempted to pass, and it turned into a scramble where she briefly took Grasso’s back into a stand-up. Grasso went to work when it hit the feet, landing some solid shots. Esparza responded with another takedown and rode out the end of the round in top position.

Grasso had a big start to the third as she found the chin of Esparza multiple times to rock the first divisional titleholder. A combination rocked Esparza and put her on the back foot, but Grasso slipped on a kick attempt then failed to rush Esparza on a potential fight-finishing moment. Esparza survived and eventually worked her way into another grappling position. Grasso was ready, though, and slickly found her way into an extremely deep armbar. Despite her arm being extended, Esparza refused to tap out and somehow flipped over and out of danger. Esparza ended up in top position, where she rode out until the final 30 seconds. The fighters returned to the feet down the stretch, and Grasso landed some good shots to close out strong.

“Alexa’s a warrior. She dominated that last round and rocked me that round for sure,” Esparza said in her post-fight interview. “I thought that I won the first two rounds. You can dominate one round and if you lose the first two rounds … you got to win two rounds at least. I’m proud of my performance.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 17 results include:

• Carla Esparza def. Alexa Grasso via majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Askar Askarov vs. Brandon Moreno declared split draw (28-28, 29-28 Askarov, 30-27 Moreno)
• Irene Aldana def. Vanessa Melo via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
• Steven Peterson def. Martin Bravo via knockout (spinning backfist) – Round 2, 1:31
• Jose Quinonez def. Carlos Huachin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Kyle Nelson def. Marco Polo Reyes via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:36
• Angela Hill def. Ariane Carnelossi via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 3, 1:56
• Sergio Pettis def. Tyson Nam via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Paul Craig def. Vinicius Moreira via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:19
• Bethe Correia def. Sijara Eubanks via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Claudio Puelles def. Marcos Mariano via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-25)