Tatiana Suarez
USA
Improves to 9-1 with UFC
Suarez defeated Lupita Godinez via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:29 of Round 2 at UFC 327 on Saturday in Miami.
ANALYSIS
It was a typically Suarez fight on a number of fronts. She struggled in the rare exchanges on the feet between the two early on before getting her trademark wrestling game going. Suarez landed all three of her takedown attempts for 5:12 worth of control time, eventually submitting an overmatched Godinez midway through Round 2. Tatiana will be 36 years old in December. She has the type of skill set that typically doesn't age well, but her technical grappling is so far ahead of most of the women in the division that she seems likely to have a fair amount of success for the immediate future. Suarez is 9-1 in the UFC, with the one loss coming against Zhang Weili in a title fight in February 2025.
It was a typically Suarez fight on a number of fronts. She struggled in the rare exchanges on the feet between the two early on before getting her trademark wrestling game going. Suarez landed all three of her takedown attempts for 5:12 worth of control time, eventually submitting an overmatched Godinez midway through Round 2. Tatiana will be 36 years old in December. She has the type of skill set that typically doesn't age well, but her technical grappling is so far ahead of most of the women in the division that she seems likely to have a fair amount of success for the immediate future. Suarez is 9-1 in the UFC, with the one loss coming against Zhang Weili in a title fight in February 2025.
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Fighting Godinez in April
Suarez will fight Lupita Godinez at UFC 327 on April 11, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Suarez bounced back from her first career loss by defeating Amanda Lemos in September, giving the former a 1-1 record in 2025. Suarez will now attempt to start up another winning streak by taking down Godinez, who won both of her fights last year.
Suarez bounced back from her first career loss by defeating Amanda Lemos in September, giving the former a 1-1 record in 2025. Suarez will now attempt to start up another winning streak by taking down Godinez, who won both of her fights last year.
Takes decision from Amanda Lemos
Suarez defeated Amanda Lemos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC Noche on Saturday in San Antonio.
ANALYSIS
Suarez was fresh off a lopsided defeat to Zhang Weili in a title fight in February, so she had to do whatever was necessary to get back in the win column here. That said, she wasn't all that impressive considering she entered as north of a -500 favorite. Suarez employed her typical wrestling-heavy game plan, but landed just three of 12 attempts. Suarez somehow connected on just 20 significant strikes despite the fact she had 9:34 worth of control time. Tatiana's natural wrestling abilities are going to be enough to defeat most of the women at 115 pounds, but it's difficult to see her reaching the mountain top given her limited offensive skill set and the fact she'll be 35 years of age in December.
Suarez was fresh off a lopsided defeat to Zhang Weili in a title fight in February, so she had to do whatever was necessary to get back in the win column here. That said, she wasn't all that impressive considering she entered as north of a -500 favorite. Suarez employed her typical wrestling-heavy game plan, but landed just three of 12 attempts. Suarez somehow connected on just 20 significant strikes despite the fact she had 9:34 worth of control time. Tatiana's natural wrestling abilities are going to be enough to defeat most of the women at 115 pounds, but it's difficult to see her reaching the mountain top given her limited offensive skill set and the fact she'll be 35 years of age in December.
Fighting Lemos at Noche
Suarez will fight Amanda Lemos at Noche UFC on Sep. 13, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Suarez will get her chance to bounce back after losing in the strawweight title fight back in February. The 5-foot-5 American will take on a recently wavering fighter in Lemos, who is 2-2 in her last four octagon appearances and lost her belt match in 2023.
Suarez will get her chance to bounce back after losing in the strawweight title fight back in February. The 5-foot-5 American will take on a recently wavering fighter in Lemos, who is 2-2 in her last four octagon appearances and lost her belt match in 2023.
Not competitive in title fight
Suarez came up short in her quest for the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship on Saturday, falling to Zhang Weili via unanimous decision (46-49, 46-49, 45-49) at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia.
ANALYSIS
Most thought Suarez would have gotten this shot years ago, but injury and illness delayed her opportunity. She finally got her chance at UFC gold here, and outside of Round 1, it was a massive struggle. She fired off a whopping 15 takedowns attempts, landing just one. Suarez spent a good portion of the opening frame on top, but did next to nothing with her positional advantage. She was dominated the rest of the way. Zhang was the far more physical fighter, and as expected, the much better striker. Simply put, Tatiana had no chance of winning if she couldn't get her wrestling game going, and that simply wasn't going to happen. This was Suarez's first professional loss, but it may very well have been her only shot at a championship. She turned 34 years of age in December. Her injury history is well documented. The one thing working in her favor is that she competes in a division with very little depth.
Most thought Suarez would have gotten this shot years ago, but injury and illness delayed her opportunity. She finally got her chance at UFC gold here, and outside of Round 1, it was a massive struggle. She fired off a whopping 15 takedowns attempts, landing just one. Suarez spent a good portion of the opening frame on top, but did next to nothing with her positional advantage. She was dominated the rest of the way. Zhang was the far more physical fighter, and as expected, the much better striker. Simply put, Tatiana had no chance of winning if she couldn't get her wrestling game going, and that simply wasn't going to happen. This was Suarez's first professional loss, but it may very well have been her only shot at a championship. She turned 34 years of age in December. Her injury history is well documented. The one thing working in her favor is that she competes in a division with very little depth.
Finally healthy enough for title shot
Suarez (undisclosed) will take on Zhang Weili for the UFC Strawweight Championship in the co-main event of UFC 312 on Feb. 8, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
The undefeated Suarez has always been considered as one of the top strawweight competitors on the roster, but injuries have been her toughest opposition to date. She had her second significant knee surgery at the beginning of 2024, and then was forced to withdraw from an October matchup against Virna Jandiroba due to undisclosed reasons. Now she'll jump straight to the top, taking on an opponent in Zhang who has successfully defended her title twice regaining it in 2022 against Carla Esparza. Suarez is a wrestler by nature, and her key to victory here will be exploiting Zhang's sub-par 50 percent takedown defense.
The undefeated Suarez has always been considered as one of the top strawweight competitors on the roster, but injuries have been her toughest opposition to date. She had her second significant knee surgery at the beginning of 2024, and then was forced to withdraw from an October matchup against Virna Jandiroba due to undisclosed reasons. Now she'll jump straight to the top, taking on an opponent in Zhang who has successfully defended her title twice regaining it in 2022 against Carla Esparza. Suarez is a wrestler by nature, and her key to victory here will be exploiting Zhang's sub-par 50 percent takedown defense.