UFC 298 has added a potential title eliminator in the strawweight division. Today, the promotion announced that undefeated top contender Tatiana Suarez (10-0) would be taking on recent title challenger Amanda Lemos (13-3-1).
UFC 298 goes down on February 17th from Anaheim, California. This is a massive matchup in the strawweight division and with this announcement, it also provides some clarity in terms of the title picture at 115 pounds. There had been a lot of discussions on whether the next title shot would go to Suarez or Yan Xiaonan.
With this announcement, we can assume that Xiaonan is getting the next shot at champion Zhang Weili. Speaking of Weili, the last fighter she defended her title against is in this fight and that’s Amanda Lemos.
Lemos earned that title shot after back-to-back finishes of Michelle Waterson-Gomez and Marina Rodriguez. While she gave Weili a good fight in their title fight, the champion was just too much. Now, she’ll look to bounce back and take away the 0 from the UFC’s top strawweight prospect.
UFC 298
Tatiana Suarez’s story is one of perseverance. Suarez won The Ultimate Fighter in 2016 and then proceeded to win her first four UFC fights in dominant fashion. Included in those four wins was former strawweight champion Carla Esparza and current flyweight champion Alexa Grasso.
However, Suarez suffered a number of serious injuries and there were questions about whether or not she’d ever be able to compete again. After nearly four years away, Suarez returned to the UFC back in February this year. She won that fight by a second round submission.
That fight took place at 125 pounds as Suarez didn’t want a massive weight cut for her first fight back. Following that win, she was booked against former UFC champion Jessica Andrade at 115 pounds. She once again looked dominant and picked up the second round submission. Now, she’ll take on Lemos and if she wins, she’ll be locked into a strawweight title fight.