UFC 298 has had trouble staying together as an event.
The February card lost another planned bout with the removal of Tatiana Suarez.
Set for February 17 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, Suarez was scheduled to meet Amanda Lemos. Instead, Mackenzie Dern steps in to challenge Lemos.
In the main event, Alexander Volkanovski defends his featherweight championship against top contender Ilia Topuria.
Lemos, a 36-year-old from Brazil, is coming off an August decision loss to Zhang Weili for the strawweight title. She is 13-3-1 overall and 7-2 since 2019.
Dern has gone 2-3 over her last five since starting her pro career 11-1. She was finished by Jessica Andrade in November at UFC 295 after besting Angela Hill in May.
Suarez, a Top-5 115-pounder in the UFC, posted on social media about the injury.
“Injuries happen, it’s part of the game,” she wrote. “I’m thankful it’s not something that will keep me out for an extended amount of time.
“All I can do is focus on the things I can control and that’s stay on the grind. Mentally focused and continuously learning and evolving. Doing what I can and striving for greatness every day.”
UFC 298 Fight Card
Along with those two bouts, Geoff Neal is scheduled to take on Ian Machado Garry while former champion Henry Cejudo returns to battle Merab Dvalishvili.
Other scheduled fights include ex-UFC champion Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa, Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick and Anthony Hernandez vs. Ikram Aliskerov.
