LFA champ Lupita Godinez signs with UFC, meets Jessica Penne on April 17

Newly signed UFC fighter Lupita Godinez will get a former title challenger in her octagon debut.

Godinez (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) meets Jessica Penne (12-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) at UFC on ESPN 22, which takes place April 17 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the booking Thursday, but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Godinez, a 27-year-old Mexican fighter, is unbeaten in her pro MMA career. She won the strawweight title in her most recent outing when she beat Vanessa Demopoulos by majority decision at LFA 94.

Penne, who originally was slated to face Hannah Goldy this past Saturday at UFC 260, will make her long-awaited return to the octagon. Her bout with Goldy was rebooked for April 17, but Goldy was forced to withdraw due to unknown reasons. Penne is coming off a nearly four-year layoff due to multiple injuries and a lengthy battle with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

With the change, the current UFC on ESPN 22 lineup includes:

• Kelvin Gastelum vs. Robert Whittaker
• Bartosz Fabinski vs. Gerald Meerschaert
• Juan Espino vs. Alexander Romanov
• Drakkar Klose vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Parker Porter vs. Chase Sherman
• Tracy Cortez vs. Justine Kish
• Austin Hubbard vs. Natan Levy
• Alex Munoz vs. Luis Pena
• Bill Algeo vs. Ricardo Ramos
• Lupita Godinez vs. Jessica Penne
• Anthony Birchak vs. Tony Gravely
• Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Jacob Malkoun
• Zarah Fairn vs. Josiane Nunes