Mackenzie Dern could have her next challenger lined up this Saturday.

Before Johnny Walker battles Waldo Cortes-Acosta at heavyweight in the UFC Vegas 124 main event, Tatiana Suarez will be among the most prominent names on the undercard.

The women’s strawweight contender is looking to work her way to another title shot after falling short against Weili Zhang in February 2025.

If she makes it three wins in a row by beating Virna Jandiroba on November 7, the Californian is expecting a second opportunity to become champion.

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Tatiana Suarez believes a UFC Vegas 124 win will secure her the Mackenzie Dern title fight

Since Suarez lost to Weili in Australia, she has reeled off consecutive victories over Amanda Lemos and Loopy Godinez.

Ahead of her clash with Jandiroba at UFC Vegas 124, the American told reporters she expects to find herself back in a title fight if her streak extends to three straight wins.

“Yeah, absolutely, because we’re at the top of the division other than Weili,” Suarez said at media day when asked if the winner of her fight should challenge for the title in 2027.

“I just feel like it makes sense that we’re gonna be next in line for the belt.”

Suarez was unbeaten at 10-0 before sharing the Octagon with ‘Magnum’, who is regarded as the greatest women’s strawweight in UFC history.

The 35-year-old has been chasing gold in the division ever since winning The Ultimate Fighter in 2016. She was widely tipped to succeed until injuries kept her sidelined for four years before a comeback in 2023.

The door could still be open to her title success, especially with the No. 1-ranked Weili yet to decide on her future and a potential return to strawweight after her failed flyweight championship attempt.

Jandiroba is the only other woman above Suarez in the Meta UFC women’s strawweight rankings.

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While her focus is currently on getting the job done against Jandiroba at the Meta UFC Apex, Suarez’s ultimate ambition remains the strawweight throne.

And after being unable to remove Weili from it 21 months ago, the 35-year-old believes she is now better placed to go all the way next time out.

“I took a lot from that fight, obviously,” Suarez said. “There’s just no way you don’t take anything from a loss, you know? For me, it’s helped me in a lot of ways mentally.

“Obviously, it’s helped me understand things that I also have to improve on, and more so the mindset of it all. Up until that point, I’ve never faced any adversity in a fight. So, that was the first time I’ve ever had to face any type of adversity, and I never stopped coming. I always kept trying, so that’s something to be said as well.

“I’m never just going to be like, ‘OK, I’m done.’ She hit me with some good shots, and I just kept coming forward. But I think more importantly, I just feel like being a skilled fighter and having the fight IQ is important when you have big fights like that.”

Instead of a legend like Weili, Suarez would be looking to take the title from Dern if she secures a shot in 2027.

Given that the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist beat Jandiroba to claim the belt, Suarez will no doubt fancy her chances against a woman who has yet to convince everyone of her champ status in the UFC.