Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com 
Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com 
Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com 
Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.comThe UFC 238 preliminary matchup between Tatiana Suarez and Nina Ansaroff had all the makings of a No. 1 contender bout for the strawweight division.
Ultimately, Suarez won the fight by unanimous decision, banking two rounds with her wrestling before holding off an Ansaroff surge in the final stanza. However, the undefeated fighter revealed she wasn’t at her best after suffering an injury in the early going.
“It was not my best performance but I got the job done. I hurt my neck in the first round, I was just trying to do the best I could. I tried to wrestle without my neck, but it’s difficult to do that,” Suarez said after her fight. “Nina is a tough opponent, she did everything right, but I knew no one was going to steal this moment from me. So many people came here to support me, the fans almost made me cry when I was walking out because they were so happy to see me, so all of that really pushed me. Everybody knows I’m tough, but as I said, I just wanted to win so bad.”
Meanwhile, Suarez continues to echo her statements that Rose Namajunas deserves a rematch against Jessica Andrade. But, if the Ultimate Fighting Championship wants to give her the title shot, she will gladly accept.
“If Jessica Andrade wants to give Rose the rematch I’m fine with that, she is the champion, I’ll fight someone else and earn my spot again, but if she doesn’t want the rematch I will definitely take that match.”