Former UFC Champion Steps Up To Face Unbeaten Tatiana Suarez in August

Suarez is set for the biggest test of her career after her original opponent pulled out.

Drew Beaupré | Jun 20, 2023

Former UFC Champion Steps Up To Face Unbeaten Tatiana Suarez in August /

Jéssica Andrade is stepping up to replace Virna Jandiroba and take on the undefeated Tatiana Suarez at Nashville's UFC Fight Night event on August 5.

The #6-ranked Jandiroba was originally supposed to welcome Suarez back to the UFC’s strawweight division, but the American will now meet a former UFC champion that is looking to get back into the win column after being finished in back-to-back fights.

It looks like Virna Jandiroba is out of the Tatiana Suarez matchup.

Suarez will now face Jessica Andrade on August 5th in Nashville per a release.

Awesome fight!
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) June 20, 2023

The matchup will mark Andrade’s fourth fight of 2023, which is a year that started out quite promisingly when she battered Lauren Murphy at UFC 283 for her third-straight victory.

The Brazilian attempted to make a quick turnaround less than a month after that win but was submitted by Erin Blanchfield, and her last fight at UFC 288 ended in the first round when Andrade was brutally knocked out by Yan Xiaonan.

Currently the UFC’s #10-ranked strawweight contender, Suarez was one of the promotion’s fastest-rising prospects before she was sidelined for nearly four years due to injuries. The 32-year-old finally returned last February and submitted Montana De La Rosa in a flyweight bout, but she’ll return to the strawweight division for the first time since 2019 when she meets Andrade in August.

Jessica Andrade was knocked out in her last fight. — Andrade is coming off a brutal knockout loss at UFC 288. :: (Ed Mulholland/USA TODAY Sports)

Andrade is only one spot ahead of Jandiroba in the UFC’s strawweight rankings, however a win over the former champion would easily be the most significant victory of Suarez’s career. The American’s size and wrestling-heavy approach make her a serious challenge for the Brazilian, but Andrade is also one of the most violent strikers in women’s MMA and will no doubt want to avoid dropping three-straight bouts for the first time.

The strawweight bout between Suarez and Andrade will feature as part of the main card when the UFC heads to Nashville on August 5, and it was just recently announced that the event will be headlined by top bantamweights Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov.

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Published Jun 20, 2023