IRVINE, Calif. – Amanda Lemos is still interested in fighting Tatiana Suarez.
Lemos (13-3-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) was scheduled to meet unbeaten Suarez in Saturday’s UFC 298 event but drew Mackenzie Dern (13-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) instead after Suarez withdrew because of a knee injury.
Looking to rebound from her title loss to strawweight champion Zhang Weili this past August at UFC 292, Lemos is just happy to have a fight after Suarez was forced out.
“Disappointment came with the possibility of not having a fight, but it’s an injury. It happened to her. It could happen to anyone, and it has happened to me before,” Lemos said through an interpreter at Wednesday’s UFC 298 media day. “I’m very happy about the fact that I have a fight. We worked and prepared for it, so let’s come out with a win.”
If Lemos gets past jiu-jitsu ace Dern, she thinks rebooking the Suarez (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) fight makes sense for her next.
“After winning on Saturday, the first thing we need to do is try to see if Tatiana is available for the fight and reschedule that fight as soon as possible,” Lemos said. “If she’s not able to go, I would have the UFC tell me what they need from me. The focus right now is to beat her (Dern) on Saturday and go from there.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
