Tatiana Suarez won a unanimous decision over Virna Jandiroba on Saturday at UFC Vegas 124 and wasted no time picking her next opponent. She wants champion Mackenzie Dern, and she wants the strawweight title.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Suarez laid out the rankings math for reporters. She sits at No. 2. Jandiroba came in at No. 3. Suarez named Zhang Weili as the only other possibility, then dismissed it because nobody knows what Zhang is doing.
“That would be a good fight,” Suarez said of Dern. “That’s the fight to make.”
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The win was her third straight since she came up short in her first attempt at the strawweight belt. She moves to 13-1 overall and 10-1 in the UFC. Jandiroba, a veteran who has been near the top of the division for a while, drops to 23-5 and 9-5 in the promotion. The fight served as the co-main event of the card, which the UFC also billed as UFC Fight Night 293. MMA Junkie first reported Suarez’s comments.
Where the champ stands
Dern completed her second title defense in August with a decision over Gillian Robertson. She hasn’t been booked since.
The expected next move for Dern was a fight with Zhang. That plan stalled once Zhang gave up the 115-pound belt to chase a flyweight title at 125, where she lost to Valentina Shevchenko. There is still no word on when Zhang will fight again, or if she will.
That leaves a short list. Suarez beat the No. 3 contender, and she happens to be ranked directly behind the champion. Matchmakers have booked title shots on weaker résumés.
A grinder’s review of her own night
Suarez didn’t oversell the performance. She admitted she was briefly let down by how the fight played out, then talked herself back around to being satisfied with the result.
“She basically did everything I thought (she would),” Suarez said. “I think my team and I game-planned really well.”
She also gave Jandiroba credit, pointing out that the Brazilian makes a lot of opponents look bad. Suarez brought up Jandiroba’s fight with Dern as well, calling it close and saying it was no blowout. That’s a telling detail from someone campaigning for a shot at Dern. Suarez basically argued that she just handled a woman who gave the champion real problems.
With the win came two checks, according to Suarez, which suggests a bonus on top of her show and win money. She said she was happy to leave with those and some experience against a very good opponent.
Quick take
I like a fighter who looks at the rankings and says the obvious thing out loud. Suarez didn’t hedge or tease anything with an emoji, and she didn’t pretend there’s a crowded field. Zhang is off at flyweight with no return date, Jandiroba just lost to her, and Dern has been sitting on the belt since August. Suarez is the best wrestler in the division and Dern is one of the best jiu-jitsu players to ever hold a UFC title. That clash of styles books itself. If the UFC wants a strawweight title fight in early 2027, this is the one, and Suarez has already done the paperwork.
