Tatiana Suarez and Virna Jandiroba have a couple of things in common. Both got themselves back on track not long ago after falling short in challenges for the UFC strawweight championship. Both are in the ESPN women's pound-for-pound top 10.
But only Suarez is now in position for another title shot after she roughed up Jandiroba for the better part of three rounds at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Suarez (13-1), No. 9 in the pound-for-pound rankings and fourth in the strawweight top 10, won her third fight in a row since suffering her only career loss in a title challenge against Zhang Weili early last year. The 35-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, California, won all three rounds on two judges' scorecards (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) to earn a unanimous decision.
The fight was the co-main event of a card headlined by a hastily scheduled heavyweight bout in which longtime light heavyweight Johnny Walker knocked out Waldo Cortes Acosta.
Suarez used her elite wrestling in a different way than usual. For the first time in her 11-fight UFC career, she was unable to land a takedown, going 0-for-9 on attempts. But in fending off Jandiroba's takedown tries in all three rounds, Suarez seized top position and turned it into over nine minutes of control time.
"I felt like it was a good matchup," Suarez said. "She's excellent on the ground. I knew that she would be."
Jandiroba (23-5), who is ranked 10th in the pound-for-pound rankings and No. 3 at 115 pounds, defended well in clinches and on the ground for much of the 15 minutes, minimizing damage and looking for a submission.
But as the fight wore on, Suarez became more dominant on the way to handing the 38-year-old Brazilian her second loss in her past three fights. The other defeat was a close decision loss against Mackenzie Dern last fall in a fight for the then-vacant title.
That's who Suarez wants next.
"I want that belt," she said. "I faced a really good opponent who arguably did win the belt. I look forward to the challenge."
In the main event, Walker's victory came after he appeared on the verge of being knocked out himself before turning the tables with a head kick and finishing an exhausted Cortes Acosta at 2:27 of the third round.
The fight was a replacement for a welterweight main event between Sean Brady and Gabriel Bonfim, which was canceled last week after it was announced that Brady has a staph infection.
