Even though the women's co-main event title fight pitting Valentina Shevchenko against Nicco Montano was pulled from UFC 228, there was no shortage of female representation on the night's show.
After overcoming thyroid cancer, #9 Tatina Suarez overcame a former UFC Champion in #6 strawweight Carla Esparza. Suarez swarmed Esparza, dragged her into deep waters and drowned her. Following a sustained beating over the first two rounds of the fight, the referee stepped in and called a stop to the bout in round three.
You can see an excerpt of our live coverage of UFC 228 below.
Round Three: The round begins with Esparza swinging wildly at Suarez while looking for a takedown, Suarez scores a takedown on Esparza and Esparza gets up. Suarez drags Esparza back to the ground while gaining side control, Esparza tries scrambling and Suarez looks for full mount while landing strikes. Esparza eats more strikes while getting Suarez in her full guard, Suarez transitions to the full mount while attacking Esparza with ground and pound until the referee jumps in.
Official Result: #9 Tatiana Suarez def. #6 Carla Esparza by TKO via strikes (4:33, R3)
Suarez moves to 7-0 career, excluding her three wins on The Ultimate Fighter. After her big win, Suarez called out Rose Namajunas and said the UFC Strawweight Champion might as well "put it in her mailbox."
You can see our full, live coverage of UFC 228 at this link, and tune into our live post-show podcast at this link. Fightful breaks down the UFC rankings each week they're updated on our subscription service, FightfulSelect.com.