Jessica Aguilar vs. Jodie Esquibel scratched due to ‘chapped lips’

Tonight’s UFC Fight Pass headliner between Jessica Aguilar and Jodie Esquibel was scratched from tonight’s UFC Fight Night event in Utica as both fighters were preparing for the bout backstage.

Here’s the official announcement via the UFC:

“Due to a medical issue involving strawweight athlete Jessica Aguilar, the New York State Athletic Commission has cancelled her scheduled bout against Jodie Esquibel,” the statement read. “Tonight’s UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes card will proceed with 12 bouts, beginning at 6:55 pm ET / 3:55 pm PT.”

According to Aguilar and her team, the reason for the removal was due to, get this, chapped lips.

Here’s a quote from Aguilar’s coach, Din Thomas, via MMAJunkie:

“(Thursday), the commission doctor saw her lips and thought it may have been some sort of infection. They rushed her to a dermatologist as soon as she stepped off the scale. The dermatologist said nothing was wrong and cleared her to fight – gave her a doctor’s note and everything. Now today, the commission doctor saw her and told her she can’t fight.”

Here’s a photo of Aguilar and Esquibel via Ariel Helwani just moments after they got the announcement:

Here’s a photo, taken moments ago and provided to me by Aguilar, of Aguilar and Esquibel backstage. She said they both agreed that they want to re-book the fight ASAP. They were already at the venue when they got the news. pic.twitter.com/Wa2Pf6CIps

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 1, 2018

This is the second time Aguilar has had a fight scrapped in 2018. The former World Series of Fighting champ was scheduled to take on Livia Renata Souza at UFC Fight Night 126 in Austin, Texas this past February but the fight was pulled due to a hand injury suffered by Souza.