UFC CEO Dana White (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
After a day of confusing reports and head-scratching rebuttal posts, it appears Tatiana Suarez is out of her title-eliminator bout with Virna Jandiroba at UFC 310 on December 7 in Las Vegas. Jandiroba is still going to fight if she can, but she’ll need an opponent.
Tatiana Suarez is Out of Her UFC 310 Fight, Despite Her Deleted Post
Tatiana Suarez is out of her UFC 310 bout with Virna Jandiroba. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via … [+]
MMA Fighting and Spinnin Backfist reported the story initially, but Suarez responded with a now-deleted post saying:
“I did not get injured. I’m curious where you heard this. Why would you put this out there?”
It’s difficult to understand why Suarez would’ve posted this if she knew she was pulling out. However, she didn’t say she wasn’t pulling out; she said she did not get injured. That detail opens the possibility of something else forcing her off the UFC 310 card.
Virna Jandiroba Wants to Fight Weili Zhang at UFC 310 For the Strawweight Title
Virna Jandiroba wants a title shot against Weili Zhang at UFC 310. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC … [+]
In any case, Suarez’s post-deletion seems to have confirmed the original report.
Jandiroba began looking for another opponent by challenging reigning champion Weili Zhang to defend her title on the card.
Weili hasn’t posted on X since 2018, so there seems to be little chance Jandiroba will get a response on that platform. However, seeing if the champion is healthy enough and ready to defend her title will be interesting.
Weili’s last title defense came at UFC 300 when she scored a unanimous decision win over Xiaonan Yan. By December, Weili will have been inactive for eight months. That’s the longest inactive streak for any current champion in the UFC besides Jon Jones, and he is scheduled to defend his title against Stipe Miocic on November 16 at UFC 309.
If UFC President Dana White and Co. grant Jandiroba’s wish and Weili defends her title, the company’s last pay-per-view show of the year will feature three championship bouts. The main event is already set, with UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad defending his title against Shavkhat Rahkmonov.
In the co-main event, UFC men’s flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will defend his title against Japanese star and newcomer Kai Asakura. The opportunity to make the final pay-per-view a massive success in Asia could be tempting for the UFC.
However, there are or were undoubtedly some plans for Weili to defend her title at some point. That said, because of Suarez’s history of injuries, having the champion on standby for this fight might have been a contingency plan from the beginning.
Mackenzie Dern Has Thrown Her Hat into the Ring as a UFC 310 Replacement
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 16: Mackenzie Dern poses on the scale during the UFC 298 ceremonial … [+]
Jandiroba didn’t call Mackenzie Dern out, but the No. 6-rated strawweight in the UFC took to Instagram to say she would step in for Suarez to rematch Jandiroba.
Dern has a fight scheduled with Amanda Ribas for December 14 in Tampa, but she’d dump that opportunity to have a chance to move into the Top 5 in her division.
Dern has beaten Jandiroba before. They met in 2020, and Dern won by unanimous decision. A second meeting seems to favor Dern more than Jandiroba, so seeing if the latter would take that fight will be interesting.
Stay tuned as more information about Jandiroba’s fight and potential replacement for Suarez in UFC 310 is available.
