UFC strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern’s next title defense is rumored to be against Denise Gomes at a still to be announced event in March of next year.

That’s the word according to Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana, though there’s no official confirmation from the UFC at this stage.

If it’s true it’ll come as a big disappointment to Tatiana Suarez, who sealed the No.1 contender spot in the division with a unanimous decision victory over Virna Jandiroba this past weekend.

That was Suarez’ third win in a row since coming up short in her first title challenge against Zhang Weili back in February of last year, but while she got the better of Jandiroba, her willingness to just grind out a win rather than go for a finish might count against her in the eyes of the UFC decision makers.

And if so that bodes well for the 26-year-old Gomes, who is actually only ranked No.4 at the moment behind Suarez, Weili and Jandiroba.

However, Gomes is on a five-fight winning streak in the division that includes victories over the likes of Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Tecia Pennington and most recently Yan Xionan, who she KO’d in the first round back in August.