Elite-level MMA fighters are used to battling through adversity, but few have had to fight through as many setbacks as Tatiana Suarez.
The 34-year-old has had to deal with health issues and lengthy injury setbacks that have prevented her from showcasing her skills at the very top of her profession.
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But now, after years of hard work away from the bright lights of the Octagon, she’s ready to fulfill her fighting potential when she challenges Zhang Weili for the undisputed UFC women’s strawweight title at UFC 312 on February 8 in Sydney, Australia.
Ahead of her title challenge at UFC 312, let’s take a rollercoaster ride through Suarez’s athletic career so far…
Missing her Olympic dream

A decorated wrestler at Northwood High School and Lindenwood University, Suarez, competing under her stepfather’s surname of Padilla, became a freestyle wrestling force, capturing silver and bronze medals in the 59-kilo category, successive World Junior Championships in 2007 and 2008, as well as a pair of bronze medals at 55-kilos at the World Championships in 2008 and 2010.
By 2011, Suarez was the top-ranked freestyle wrestler in the country, and seemingly set to compete for the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. But, with the biggest opportunity of her young athletic career mere months away, disaster struck.
A neck injury forced her out of the Olympics, but further examination discovered a disc issue in her neck and a cancerous growth on her thyroid.
Suarez underwent treatment, including radiation therapy and the removal of her thyroid and lymph nodes, and after being declared cancer-free, she looked to return to competition once more.
A change of sports, a change of name

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With her Olympic dream in the rearview mirror, Suarez, still competing as Tatiana Padilla, turned her attention to grappling, and then mixed martial arts.
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After struggling to get opponents due to her notoriety as a wrestler, her coaches advised her to fight under her father’s surname of Suarez, and she was eventually able to pick up some experience in the ammys before turning pro in the summer of 2014.
Winning The Ultimate Fighter
After claiming a hat-trick of professional wins, Suarez got the call to be a part of the 23rd season of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia.

Suarez defeated Chel-c Bailey to earn her spot on the show, and was the first women’s strawweight pick of team coach and former title challenger Claudia Gadelha.
She went on to defeat JJ Aldrich via second-round submission in the quarterfinals, then subbed England’s Kate Jackson with a first-round guillotine to make it to the finale. Suarez secured her UFC spot with her third straight choke, as she finished Amanda Cooper in the first round with a D’Arce choke.
Building momentum
Once she made it to the UFC roster, Suarez was unstoppable. A unanimous decision win over Viviane Pereira got her UFC career off to a winning start before a first-round submission of future flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and a third-round TKO of former strawweight queen Carla Esparza gave the world a glimpse of Suarez’s sky-high potential. Another win followed, as she defeated Nina Nunes (nee Ansaroff) by unanimous decision at UFC 238.
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With Suarez’s run of five straight wins in the Octagon, people around the sport were starting to get very excited about just how far she could go in the UFC’s strawweight division. But, once again, injury reared its ugly head and forced Suarez onto the sidelines.
Bouncing back

She aggravated her neck in that win over Nunes, and after recovering from that, she suffered a knee injury in July 2021 that saw a UFC 266 bout with Roxanne Modafferi canceled and kept her out of the cage until 2023.
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After nearly four years away, Suarez returned with a second-round guillotine choke of Montana De La Rosa in a flyweight matchup, then returned to strawweight five months later to repeat the feat as she subbed former champion Jessica Andrade in the second round, again with a guillotine.

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Now, after more frustration saw planned bouts with Amanda Lemos and Virna Jandiroba scrapped in 2024, Suarez is back, and ready to finally take her shot at UFC gold.
Approaching the summit
The 34-year-old may only have 10 pro fights to her name, but she’s endured enough drama and frustration to last several careers.
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The manner in which Suarez won The Ultimate Fighter led her to be earmarked as a strawweight champion of the future, but her rise to the top of the division has been anything but straightforward as she’s faced almost as many challenges away from the cage as she has inside it.
But now, nine years after she first competed in The Ultimate Fighter, Suarez is ready to fulfill her potential as she challenges for UFC gold for the very first time.

She’ll face a formidable test. Reigning strawweight champion Zhang Weili has defeated a who’s who of the 115-pound division over the years and is riding a four-fight win streak that stretches back to the summer of 2022. But that’s a test she’ll relish as she prepares fight for the title in Australia on February 8.
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For a fighter whose career has been turned upside down by injuries, it almost seems appropriate that Suarez is heading Down Under to challenge for her first UFC championship.
Her single-minded determination to overcome every obstacle life has thrown in her way has ensured that, even while she’s been out of action, her name has never been far from the title conversation.
Now she’s ready to enter the championship chat on February 8, and she plans on leaving with the gold.
UFC 312: Du Plessis vs Strickland 2 took place live from Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales, Australia on February 8, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!