Virna Jandiroda out, Tatiana Suarez now faces Jessica Andrade at UFC Fight Night 226

Two-time freestyle wrestling World Championships bronze medalist Tatiana Suarez (9-0) made her return to the octagon nearly four years following her most recent bout earlier this year in February, where she submitted (guillotine choke) Montana De La Rosa in round two at UFC Vegas 70.

Suarez was expected to face Virna Jandiroba (19-3) in her next outing at UFC Fight Night 226. However, Jandiroba withdrew from the bout last week with a knee injury and has since been replaced with another Brazilian finisher in former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade (24-11).

UFC Fight Night 226 is to go down on August 5, 2023, live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

This is an even more exciting clash than the first booking.

Jandiroba is currently ranked at no. 6 in the strawweight division, whereas Andrade is ranked at no. 5.

Suarez’ return bout took place in the flyweight division, though she’ll be returning to 115 lbs to face Andrade.

Andrade comes into the bout on a two-fight skid, having lost her most recent outings to no. 4 ranked flyweight contender Erin Blanchfield and no. 3 ranked strawweight contender Yan Xiaonan.

Prior to that, Andrade had been 4-1 over her latest five appearances, only losing to former UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in their title bout, with the wins coming over Katlyn Chookagian (TKO), Cynthia Calvillo (TKO), Amanda Lemos (TKO), and Lauren Murphy (UD).

Andrade also of course went 1-1 over the course of her two bouts with former two-time UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas, winning the first fight via KO where she claimed the title, and losing the rematch via split decision.

Suarez on the other hand has notable victories over current UFC flyweight champion Alexa Grasso (rear naked choke), who she needed just half a round to dispatch of, as well as former two-time UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza (TKO).

She also went 2-0 as an amateur and 3-0 on The Ultimate Fighter 23, a season she won, giving her a total MMA record of 14-0.

Who do you see coming out on top in this epic strawweight encounter going down at UFC Fight Night 226?

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Brady Ordway

I became a fan of combat sports when I was 12 years old. I was scrolling through the channels and landed upon Versus, where WEC was televised. Urijah Faber fought Jens Pulver for the second time that night. That's the first fight I ever saw, and I was immediately hooked. So eventually, I began covering the sport in the fourth quarter of 2018, and have since started writing about animals as well. If you'd like to see those pieces, be sure to check out learnaboutnature.com!

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