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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.
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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.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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