Livinha Souza’s hand not fully healed, ruled unfit to fight Jessica Aguilar at UFC 222

Livinha Souza won’t be fighting at UFC 222.

The former Invicta FC strawweight champion was originally slated to face Jessica Aguilar at UFC Austin on Feb. 18, but an injured hand forced the promotion to change plans. The UFC considered moving the match-up to UFC 222 on March 3, but those plans are now gone.

MMA Fighting has learned that Souza’s hand hasn’t healed as fast as her team expected, and she won’t be able to fight Aguilar on March 3 in Las Vegas. There’s still a chance that Aguilar will get a new opponent for UFC 222, but “Jag” is still waiting for a name.

Souza (11-1) was getting ready to debut in the Octagon after racking up a 4-1 record under the Invicta FC banner, winning and defending the 115-pound championship.

Aguilar (19-6), a former WSOF strawweight queen, is 0-2 in the UFC with decision losses to Claudia Gadelha and Cortney Casey.

UFC 222 will be headlined by Cris Cyborg vs. Yana Kunitskaya for the women's featherweight championship. In the co-main event, Frankie Edgar takes on Brian Ortega.

Danny Segura contributed to this report