Former strawweight champion Carla Esparza will return to the octagon at UFC 197 when she takes on Juliana Lima.

The UFC confirmed the bout, first reported by ESPN, today. UFC 197 takes place April 23 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Esparza (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) steps in for the injured Jessica Aguilar against the streaking Lima (8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC).

Esparza became the promotion’s first strawweight champion by winning “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 20. She defeated Rose Namajunas in the finals.

However, Esparza was overwhelmed by the constant attack of Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 185. She has not fought since that bout on March 14 of this past year due to surgery to repair his shoulder.

Lima is riding a two-fight winning streak with wins over Nina Ansaroff and Ericka Almeida. Her lone loss in the octagon was also to Jedrzejczyk.

The latest UFC 197 card now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

Champ Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones – for light heavyweight title

Champ Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo – for flyweight title

Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Pettis

Rafael Natal vs. Robert Whittaker

Andre Fili vs. Yair Rodriguez

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1)

Chris Kelades vs. Sergio Pettis

Danny Roberts vs. Dominique Steele

Carla Esparza vs. Juliana Lima

Glaico Franca vs. James Vick

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass)

Clint Hester vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima

Efrain Escudero vs. Kevin Lee

For more on UFC 197, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.