The UFC has booked a strawweight fight between two former title challengers for UFC Vegas 124 in Las Vegas on November 7. Tatiana Suarez returns in the Octagon to take on Virna Jandiroba at the Meta Apex. Both women fought for the title last year.
Multiple sources have confirmed the booking to Heavy.com after an initial report from AG Fight. Suarez is currently ranked number two in the UFC Media rankings and number three in the UFC Meta rankings, while Jandiroba holds the exact opposite positions. With so much at stake, the winner of this matchup will almost certainly earn a second shot at the strawweight title.
Championship Potential From The Start
Tatiana Suarez arrived in the UFC in 2016 as part of the 23rd season of The Ultimate Fighter. Suarez, known for her grappling, cruised through the tournament, beating Chelsea Bailey, JJ Aldrich, and Kate Jackson to secure her spot in the season’s finale against Amanda Cooper. She won via D’Arce choke submission in the first round. Suarez seemed unstoppable, winning five fights in a row, including victories over former champion Carla Esparza and later champion Alexa Grasso. Suarez looked ready for a shot at the title, but lingering injuries kept her out of competition for almost four years. In 2023, she returned at flyweight against Montana de la Rosa. Suarez won via guillotine choke submission in the second round.
She stated that she wanted to compete in a higher weight class so she could fully focus on the fight itself and not the process of making weight. Six months later, she beat former champion Jessica Andrade, back at strawweight, and looked better than ever. Unfortunately, she got injured again but got a title shot when she returned to the Octagon last year against then-champion Zhang Weili. Suarez dominated in the first round, but was completely dominated herself in the other four rounds and lost for the first time in her career. Suarez has bounced back since that loss with wins over Amanda Lemos and Loopy Godinez. A win over Virna Jandiroba should get her a new shot at the title.
The Underrated Dark Horse Of Strawweight
In almost every weight class, there is one person who is very underrated. Virna Jandiroba fits that profile in the strawweight division. The former Invicta FC champion signed with the UFC in 2019. After losing her undefeated record in her debut fight against former champion Carla Esparza, Jandiroba won three of her next five fights, only dropping close decisions to BJJ specialists Amanda Ribas and current champion Mackenzie Dern. After the loss to Ribas, Jandiroba went on her best winning streak in the UFC. She won five fights in a row, including wins over Amanda Lemos, Loopy Godinez, and Yan Xiaonan.
That win against Yan in April last year set her up for a title fight. Since Zhang Weili left the division and vacated her title, the UFC put together a fight between Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern for the vacant title. In a close fight, Jandiroba dropped a unanimous decision against the current champion late last year. Jandiroba bounced back earlier this year with a dominant unanimous decision win over Tabatha Ricci. A win over Suarez would put Jandiroba in line for a possible new title shot at strawweight.
UFC Vegas 124 – (November 7th)
- Gabriel Bonfim vs. Sean Brady
- Tatiana Suarez vs. Virna Jandiroba
- Karine Silva vs. Gabriella Fernandes
- Davey Grant vs. Elijah Smith
- Austin Bashi vs. Lucas Brennan
- Murtazali Magomedov vs. José Delano
- Billy Elekana vs. Lucas Fernando
- SeokHyeon Ko vs. Wellington Turman
- Jonny Parsons vs. José Henrique Souza
- Gabriel Lorenço vs. Alvin Hines
Former Title Challengers Meet at UFC Vegas 124