Report: Carla Esparza Faces Tatiana Suarez At UFC 228
A women’s strawweight division attraction has been added to UFC 228 according to Joe Devlin of MMAFNL as #6 Carla Esparza faces #9 Tatiana Suarez.
Esparza (13-5-0) has won two of her last three heading into this encounter, with those victories coming over the duo of Maryna Moroz and Cynthia Calvillo. Esparza was the first ever UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion, defeating Rose Namajunas by submission at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale to claim the gold. Esparza has seen her last five fights go the distance and it has been over three years since the fighter got a finish.
Suarez (6-0-0) has already picked up three wins under the UFC banner, last defeating Alexa Grasso at UFC Fight Night Chile. Suarez was also the winner of the UFC Ultimate Fighter 23, defeating Amanda Cooper by submission in the finals. Suarez has seen just two of her professional MMA fights go the distance, with one of those bouts coming in the UFC and the other coming in the Gladiator Challenge promotion.
UFC 228 takes place on Saturday, September 8 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas with no main event announced at this time. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
