Tatiana Suarez expects to be the UFC women’s strawweight champion within the next year.
In February 2023, the undefeated Suarez ended a nearly four-year layoff when she returned to submit Montana De La Rosa in round two. Six months later, the Ultimate Fighter Season 23 winner continued her comeback tour with another second-round submission, this time against Jessica Andrade.
At UFC 300, Yan Xiaonan came up short in her attempt to dethrone the women’s strawweight queen, Zhang Weili. As a result, Suarez and Xiaonan switched rankings spots in the division, making the American the number one contender.
During an exclusive interview with MiddleEasy, Suarez was asked about her thoughts on Xiaonan getting a title shot before her. She responded by saying:
“I thought that [me and Yan Xiaonan] should fight for [the strawweight title shot]. That’s all water under the bridge now…I wanted to fight her for it, butcher got it, so it’s okay. I’m just looking at the winner. I heard other fighters saying, oh, well maybe I have a title shot after this. I’m like, well, I don’t think so because I’m number two, so you gotta fight me first. They are trying to skip the line and no.”
Watch Suarez’s latest win against Andrade below:
Still 𝕌𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕!
Tatiana Suarez defeats Jessica Andrade via Guillotine Choke 🐍#UFCNashville pic.twitter.com/zk6KjoWnZA
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) August 6, 2023
Tatiana Suarez mentions Virna Jandiroba as potential opponent for number one contender fight
It’s unclear if Tatiana Suarez’s latest win against Jessica Andrade will lead to the next UFC women’s strawweight title shot. Nonetheless, the 33-year-old isn’t afraid of fighting again to secure the opportunity, which she explained by mentioning number five-ranked Virna Jandiroba during the previously mentioned interview:
“I think I’m gonna be champ by [this time next year]. I don’t even care if they have me fight like Virna [Jandiroba]. I think that would be a great fight, to be honest. I wouldn’t mind. I’m not one of those people who’s like ‘I deserve things.’ I don’t mind fighting Virna for that spot because she just came off a win…If anything, I should fight Virna and then the winner should fight Weili [Zhang]. If that’s what they want to do. If they want to give me the title shot, I’m up for that too. I don’t mind it either way.”
Virna Jandiroba started her UFC tenure by enduring the ups and downs of a 3-3 record. Since then, she’s established herself as a potential title contender at 115 pounds by winning three consecutive fights by unanimous decision against Angela Hill, Marina Rodriguez, and Loopy Godinez.
Watch Suarez’s entire MiddleEasy exclusive interview below:
