More than a year later, a former UFC champion is headed back to the Octagon.

Carla Esparza, the promotion’s inaugural strawweight champ, will fight for the first time since losing her belt in her first title defense in March, replacing injured Jessica Aguilar and taking on Julianna Lima at UFC 197 next month in Las Vegas.

Aguilar recently suffered a knee injury, forcing her withdrawal from the undercard of the main-event clash between light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and former champ Jon Jones on April 23 at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The second-ranked Esparza has stepped up to take on 14th-ranked Lima (8-2). The Brazilian is 2-1 in the UFC, with unanimous-decision victories in her past two fights against Nina Ansaroff and Ericka Almeida.

Esparza (11-3), a Redondo Union High grad based out of Irvine, hasn’t fought since her second-round TKO loss to current champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 195 on March 14, 2015. During the fight, Esparza suffered a shoulder injury that led to surgery, sidelining her for several months.

The UFC crowned its first strawweight champion when Esparza, who was also the first Invicta FC 115-pound champion, picked up a dominant third-round submission victory over Rose Namajunas at The Ultimate Fighter Finale in December 2014.