UFC 298 has lost some of its local luster but will still have a key Southern California connection.
Due to an unspecified injury, undefeated strawweight Tatiana Suarez will not be fighting Feb. 17 at Honda Center against Amanda Lemos, with Huntington Beach’s Mackenzie Dern filling in on a month’s notice.
The news of the replacement was confirmed by a UFC source.
• For related, see: UFC 298 features Volkanovski vs. Topuria at Honda Center on Feb. 17
Suarez, a Covina native and former Northview High wrestling star, is 11-0 and has dealt with several injuries throughout her career. The 32-year-old endured a nearly four-year layoff before earning submission victories last year over Montana De La Rosa in February and former champion Jessica Andrade in August.
Dern, 30, is coming off a second-round TKO loss to Andrade at UFC 295 on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist is 13-4 in her career and has gone 8-4 in the UFC with four submission wins.
Lemos (13-3-1) is looking to return to title contention. The 36-year-old Brazilian is coming off a lopsided unanimous-decision loss to 115-pound champion Weili Zhang at UFC 292 in August.
UFC 298 will be headlined by featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski facing surging challenger Ilia Topuria, with Merab Dvalishvili taking on former two-division champion Henry Cejudo in a potential bantamweight title contender bout.
This will be the UFC’s 10th show at the Anaheim arena since it debuted with UFC 59 on April 15, 2006, at the then-Arrowhead Pond.
UFC 298
Main event: featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria
When: Feb. 17
Where: Honda Center
Tickets: ticketmaster.com
