A top contender bout has suffered a change for UFC 298 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California next month (Sat., Feb. 17, 2024).
No. 3-ranked UFC Strawweight contender, Tatiana Suarez (10-0), has reportedly sustained an unspecified injury, leading to her withdrawal from a scheduled bout against Amanda Lemos (13-3-1), according to OC Register. No. 7-ranked contender, Mackenzie Dern (13-4), is now expected to replace Suarez.
The Suarez vs. Lemos match up was expected to be a potential ticket to a title shot for Suarez as Lemos will enter UFC 298 off a failed attempt of her own by unanimous decision against the champion, Zhang Weili, at UFC 292 in August 2023. Suarez returned to the 115-pound division in her last fight when she submitted former champion, Jessica Andrade, with a second round guillotine (watch highlights) at UFC Nashville, also in August 2023. Andrade was Suarez’s second fight since she returned from a four-year hiatus due to a myriad of injuries.
Dern will enter the Lemos bout having last fought Andrade and falling short via a tough second round knockout loss at UFC 295 in November 2023 (watch highlights). Both Brazilians, Dern and Lemos, aim to get back on track by defeating the other.
The current 13-fight UFC 298 line up can be seen below.
- 145lbs.: (C)Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria
- 170lbs.: Geoff Neal vs. Ian Machado Garry
- 135lbs.: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo
- 185lbs.: Anthony Hernandez vs. Ikram Aliskerov
- 115lbs.: Amanda Lemos vs. Mackenzie Dern
- 265lbs.: Marcos Rogério de Lima vs. Justin Tafa
- 205lbs.: Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
- 125lbs.: Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick
- 185lbs.: Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa
- 135lbs.: Rinya Nakamura vs. Brady Hiestand
- 170lbs.: Oban Elliott vs. Valentine Woodburn
- 185lbs.: A.J. Dobson vs. Tresean Gore
- 170lbs.: Danny Barlow vs. Josh Quinlan