Unbeaten Tatiana Suarez Matched With Top 10 Opponent for UFC Strawweight Return

Suarez will compete in the strawweight division for the first time in more than three years.

Drew Beaupré | May 19, 2023

Unbeaten Tatiana Suarez Matched With Top 10 Opponent for UFC Strawweight Return /

A strawweight matchup between top-ranked fighters Tatiana Suarez and Virna Jandiroba has been added to a UFC Fight Night card on August 5.

The fight will see Suarez make her return to the strawweight division for the first time since 2019, while Jandiroba will try to defend her ranking against the undefeated fighter.

Virna Jandiroba will fight Tatiana Suarez at UFC event on August 5th. (first rep. @MMAmelotto) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFC2023

(Rumored #UFCNashville event) pic.twitter.com/VGj7onIkxG
— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) May 19, 2023

A winner of Season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter, Suarez joined the UFC as one of the promotion’s most promising female talents. The 32-year-old hit the ground running in the UFC by adding five wins to her undefeated record, including finishes over current flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and two-time strawweight champion Carla Esparza.

Suarez saw her significant momentum halted by a lengthy injury layoff, but she made a successful return to action after nearly three years away when she submitted Montana De La Rosa in a flyweight bout earlier this year.

The 32-year-old won’t have an easy assignment for her return to the strawweight division, as Jandiroba is currently in the best form of her UFC career and is the promotion’s #6-ranked strawweight contender. “Carcará” experienced mixed success through her first few years in the UFC, but she’s now on a two-fight win streak after earning decisions over Top 15 strawweights Angela Hill and Marina Rodriguez.

A win in this matchup could put either woman just a fight or two away from a shot at the strawweight title, which Weili Zhang is set to defend against #4-ranked Amanda Lemos in the co-main event of UFC 292 in Boston.

The UFC Fight Night card scheduled for August 5 still lacks a main event, and the only other fights booked so far are a pair of light heavyweight matchups featuring Dustin Jacoby vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu and Tanner Boser vs. Aleksa Camur.

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Published May 19, 2023