Tatiana
Suarez made her long-awaited return at
UFC Fight Night 220, where she defeated Montana
De La Rosa via second-round submission in a flyweight bout.
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The long-term plan, however, is for Suarez to return to 115 pounds,
where she established herself as a contender with wins over the
likes of Alexa
Grasso, Carla
Esparza and Nina Nunes.
Her career was put on hold due to injuries, and Satruday marked her
first bout since June 2019.
“I think they should give me a really good opponent at strawweight
and then I’ll earn [a title shot],” Suarez said at the UFC Fight
Night 220 post-fight press conference. “I’ve never been given
anything in my life. I’ve always earned it, and I don’t mind doing
that. I think that builds character. You’ve got to work for the
things that you get in your life. I don’t mind doing that because
that’s how my mom and my grandma raised me to be. So I’m excited
for whoever.”
While Suarez is willing to face anyone in the strawweight division,
she targeted former champion Rose
Namajunas as a potential opponent for her return to 115
pounds.
“I want to fight all the best people. I’m not scared to fight the
best people, because that means I’m the best. So I would love to
fight someone like Rose,” Suarez said. “She’s an amazing striker,
she’s an amazing martial artist. She too has overcome a lot of
things in her life and I respect her as a person. When I say I want
to fight them, I’m not trying to be disrespectful. I just think
that I want to fight all the great people. It’s out of respect that
I want to do that. I feel like it’s an honor to share the cage with
somebody.”
Ultimately, Suarez is happy to be back to active competition after
a long time on the shelf. That means any opponent is a worthwhile
challenge.
“I’m just excited,” she said. “I would love to fight somebody like
Rose or whoever they give me. I’ve told multiple people I’d go down
the entire roster if I could. I wouldn’t mind doing that. I just
think it’s fun to fight.”