temporarily in another division, the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s strawweight title picture may
be wide open.
Two-time champ Zhang surrendered her 115-pound belt after beating
Tatiana
Suarez at UFC 312 in early 2025. When she relocated to
challenge Valentina
Shevchenko at flyweight, she left behind a throne later assumed
by Mackenzie
Dern after she outworked Virna
Jandiroba. Suarez (11-1), in her second outing since suffering
her first pro defeat, has been matched against Lupita
Godinez (14-5) at UFC 327.
The two will tangle on April 11 at the currently unconfirmed event
likely held at the Kaseya Center in Miami, with the news of this
booking first reported by ufc_mma_wmma_wwrestling on Instagram on Wednesday
night.
A Title Shot Could Loom for the Victor
Both ladies winning their last bout—Godinez currently rides a
two-fight win streak—leads this high-stakes affair into one that
might come with a championship opportunity for the prevailing
woman. Suarez has once vied for the strawweight throne, while
Godinez has a history with champ Dern as the jiu-jitsu ace handed
Godinez her most previous defeat.
Since dropping two to the aforementioned Dern and Jandiroba,
Godinez has looked up, with a 2025 campaign that saw her hand
raised twice. The woman from Mexico picked up decision nods over
Julia
Polastri, and most significantly, ex-champ Jessica
Andrade to place herself in position to face the top-ranked
Suarez. As a professional, “Loopy” has heard the final bell in 16
of her 19 appearances.
While Suarez has gone the distance in her last two, her finish rate
stands at a significantly higher 64%—compared to Godinez at 21%.
The lone blemish in Suarez’ career came against Zhang, with the
California native winning her first 10 pro outings. On her way up,
she too bested Andrade, while also picking up victories over elite
names like Alexa
Grasso and Carla
Esparza.