Former UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza is set to return to the cage next month at UFC 197.
Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza is set to return to action next month on short notice against Juliana Lima. Esparza is replacing Jessica Aguilar, who was forced out of the Lima fight with an injury. UFC officials confirmed the news on Tuesday following an initial report from Idiscutido.
Esparza (10-3) has been out of the Octagon since she lost her title by second-round TKO to the hands of current titleholder Joanna Jedrzjeczyk at UFC 185 just over a year ago. Prior to that, she followed up a successful run on The Ultimate Fighter 20 with winning the inaugural UFC women’s 115-pound belt with a stoppage over top contender Rose Namajunas.
Lima (8-2) is currently riding a two-fight winning streak with decision victories over Ericka Almeida and Nina Ansaroff. She made her promotional debut in July 2014 and lost to the aforementioned Jedrzejczyk by unanimous decision.
Esparza vs. Lima is scheduled for the FOX Sports 1 preliminary card.
UFC 197 takes place live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 23. In the main event, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier takes on Jon Jones in a highly anticipated rematch, but the bout may be in jeopardy as Bones was arrested on Tuesday for violating his probation.