UFC 298 sees a shake-up to its women's strawweight fight.
Tatiana Suarez is off of the card and will be replaced by Mackenzie Dern, who will take on Amanda Lemos in a women's strawweight fight.
Suarez is being replaced due to an undisclosed injury, an unfortunate recurring issue that has plagued the 33-year-old throughout her career. The No. 3 ranked women's strawweight is a perfect 11-0 in her MMA career, but had a near four-year layoff as she nursed various knee and neck injuries, before she returned at UFC Fight Night 220 in February of 2023.
The fighter took to her Instagram to update fans on her health status, sharing some positive news.
"I won't be out for long. A minor setback," Suarez wrote on Tuesday night. "I asked to postpone just a few weeks so I could heal up and train. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
"I'm thankful it's not something that will keep me out for an extended amount of time."
Dern has been unable to rack up a streak of any kind recently, as she's gone 2-3 in her last five fights. The No. 8 ranked women's strawweight's most recent outing was a second-round TKO loss to Jéssica Andrade at UFC 295 in November.
The 30-year-old goes up against Lemos, the No. 4 ranked women's strawweight. The Brazilian is looking for a bounce-back fight after surviving five rounds with current champion Zhang Weili, but losing in historic fashion, after allowing the largest strike differential in a women's UFC fight.
Since joining the promotion in 2017, Lemos has a 7-3 record.
Below is the current updated UFC 298 main card, scheduled to take place from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on Feb. 17.
• UFC Featherweight Championship Fight: Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Ilia Topuria
• Welterweight Fight: Geoff Neal vs. Ian Machado Garry
• Bantamweight Fight: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo
• Middleweight Fight: Anthony Hernandez vs. Ikram Aliskerov
• Women's Strawweight Fight: Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Lemos
