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Tatiana Suarez
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Tatiana Suarez's Moment Finally Arrives

It Always Felt Like The Strawweight Star Would Fight For A Title, And Now She Is

Since the moment she sunk in a D’Arce choke vs Amanda Cooper to win Season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2016, Tatiana Suarez’s appearance in a UFC strawweight title bout has always had a distinct feeling of inevitability. That’s particularly high praise when you recall that the Cooper fight was only her fifth mixed martial arts bout. But some fighters were simply born for this, and Suarez is one of them.

In fact, as she steps into the Octagon in Sydney February 8 to face champion Zhang Weili, the only real surprise is that nearly a decade has passed before her first crack at UFC gold. As is well-documented, injuries have played at particularly outsized role in the rise of the California native, resulting in extended absences from the sport she dominates when she’s healthy.

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The physical hardships started before her MMA days. An elite and decorated wrestler in her younger says, she received a cancer diagnosis following a neck injury while training for the 2012 Olympics. But instead of deflating her aspirations, it sculpted her tenacity.

Tatiana Suarez Fight Week Interview | UFC 312
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Tatiana Suarez Fight Week Interview | UFC 312
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"I think my battle with cancer was just an eye-opening thing for me,” she says, chatting with UFC.com in Las Vegas shortly before departing for Australia. “A lot of times, we go through these camps and we're like, 'oh my gosh, this is so hard.' But for me, I'm so grateful to be able to do something that I love even with injury after injury. Not that I didn't love it before, but now I'm just super grateful when I do feel super tired and sore and I'm like, 'you know what? I'm grateful that I can just be out there and I'm healthy and that I could do what I love.' Because I truly do love it. I'm so passionate about it. When I'm not training. I'm looking up videos on how to get better. Like whether it's boxing, kickboxing, jiu jitsu...I'm always trying to be the best martial artist that I can be.”

RELATED: The Long Road To The Top For Tatiana Suarez

Perhaps that sounds excessive, but the proof has been in the pudding for Suarez’s career to date. She remains undefeated 11 fights into her MMA career, and her hit list includes emphatic finishes over three former champions: Carla Esparza, Alexa Grasso and Jessica Andrade.

"I feel like the better the person is, the more I rise to the occasion. It's almost because they're good that I match that. I rise to their standard. Every opponent, I've just gone out there and tried to finish." 

Tatiana Suarez celebrates after her submission victory over Alexa Grasso of Mexico in their women's strawweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Movistar Arena on May 19, 2018 in Santiago, Chile
Tatiana Suarez celebrates after her submission victory over Alexa Grasso of Mexico in their women's strawweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Movistar Arena on May 19, 2018 in Santiago, Chile. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC)

She’s been largely successful in that endeavor, finishing eight of her wins, including six by submission and collecting three performance bonuses along the way. It’s an incredible résumé, but, for Suarez, it’s more like simple math.

UFC 312 COUNTDOWN: Zhang vs Suarez

“I've been wrestling since I was three years old, so I think it's really hard [for other strawweights] to catch up in the wrestling department. I've been doing wrestling for so long that I know so many sequences in my head, and my body knows it so well. Even if they think that they have something, it's like, 'okay, you might think you have it, but then you don't.'”

Tatiana Suarez reacts after her submission victory over Jessica Andrade of Brazil in a strawweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Bridgestone Arena on August 05, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee
Tatiana Suarez reacts after her submission victory over Jessica Andrade of Brazil in a strawweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Bridgestone Arena on August 05, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Despite Suarez’s title shot feeling inevitable, that certainly doesn’t mean victory is. Across two separate title runs, her opponent Zhang Weili has been hard at work in her campaign for eventual G.O.A.T. status, turning back three former champions, one of them twice: Hall of Famer Joanna Jędrzejczyk. The Chinese superstar boasts tremendous cardio, a diverse skillset and extended experience in five-round fights. Suarez know this will be a steep hill to climb, and she put in the hours at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas to match her opponent’s advantages.

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“In order to simulate a five-round fight, we train that amount in the cage. Sparring is a bit more intense. If I get a finish, I've got to stand back up; the round is not over, things like that. Doing craft work, but making sure it's over a long period of time. I feel like that should show in the fight. 

“I guess you would say that they have to pull me out of the training room as opposed to, "okay, you need to do more." I'm well-prepared.”

RELATED: A Day In The Life Of Suarez

Suarez know what less than 100% feels like. She points to one fight in particular on her record where something was off.

“My fight with Nina [Nunes]. My neck was injured prior to the fight, so I felt like I was pressuring less. I always go out there to beat somebody up for however long. I try to make them give up. That was the only fight where I felt that way.” 

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She got the unanimous nod in that bout at UFC 238, but it would be nearly four years before she returned to the Octagon when the neck injury was reaggravated. She knows better than anyone that she won’t get by Zhang if she feels anything less than 100%.

"We say Weili is a striking specialist, but I feel like she's just more well-rounded: she does wrestling and jiu jitsu and striking. I look forward to our matchup, just because I know how great of a martial artist she is. She's not just a striker and she's not just a grappler. I think that my matchup with Weili is going to be fireworks. I think we're going to bring out the best out of each other.”

And how will Suarez’s best overcome Zhang’s best?

Tatiana Suarez waits in her corner prior to her women's strawweight bout against Nina Ansaroff during the UFC 238 event at the United Center on June 8, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois
Tatiana Suarez waits in her corner prior to her women's strawweight bout against Nina Ansaroff during the UFC 238 event at the United Center on June 8, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

"My high school wrestling coach, he's not surprised that I'm a fighter,” she laughs. “Because of my style: even when I wrestled, was just so aggressive. A go-getter. I've always done that. And I guess that's just me.

"When I'm talking to somebody that's close to me, like my mom or a family member, and we're talking about my fights. I always end it like, 'I guess I just got to be me.' And when I say that, I mean my aggressive self and I’ll go out there and believe in myself, have  the utmost confidence in myself, and think I'm the best in the world."

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!