LAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 20: Carla Esparza steps on the scale during the UFC 197 weigh-in at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 20, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
A rivalry first ignited during "The Ultimate Fighter" season 20 will finally result in a fight as former strawweight champion Carla Esparza returns to action against Randa Markos at UFC Fight Night in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on Feb. 19.
UFC officials announced the new matchup on Tuesday.
Esparza will return to action for the first time since April 2016 when she defeated Juliana Lima by unanimous decision. That fight got her back in the win column after Esparza fell to current strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2015 before shoulder surgery kept her out of action for the better part of a year.
Most recently, Esparza had been clamoring for a fight to help her make ends meet financially after inactivity helped to drain her bank account while sitting on the sidelines with the injury.
Now she returns against an old foe from "The Ultimate Fighter" as Markos looks to settle the score with Esparza in February.
Markos was one of the biggest surprises on the reality show that helped crown the first ever UFC women's strawweight champion and she engaged in a war of words with Esparza while filming, but the two never actually got the chance to meet.
Now Markos will face Esparza while also trying to get back on track following a submission loss to Cortney Casey in her last fight.
Markos has bounced back and forth between wins and losses over her past eight fights as she tries to gain ground in a growing strawweight division in the UFC.
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