The UFC is heading back to Australia in 2025 for the second PPV of the year on February 8th. Tonight, the promotion announced the main event and the co-main event. The co-main event will feature a highly anticipated strawweight title fight between champion Zhang Weili (25-3) and top contender Tatiana Suarez (10-0).
For Tatiana Suarez, this title fight is the culmination of a long journey. Suarez won The Ultimate Fighter and after winning TUF, she looked like she was destined to become a champion. She won her first four fights which included stoppages over champions Carla Esparza and Alexa Grasso.
However, after her fourth fight, the injury bug bit her. After that fourth win, it took Suarez nearly four years to get back to the octagon. When she did return last year, she didn’t miss a beat as she stopped Montana De La Rosa and former UFC champion Jessica Andrade.
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Zhang Weili stands across from Suarez in February. Weili will be looking for her third successful title defense after regaining the title in 2022. Weili ran through the competition to start her UFC career and she was 21-1 going into her first title defense.
However, Weili suffered back-to-back losses against Rose Namajunas. After bouncing back against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Weili regained the title by dominating Carla Esparza who took the belt from Namajunas. She defended the title against Amanda Lemos last August and then defended it again against Yan Xiaonan at UFC 300.