Ever since she made her debut in the UFC by dominantly winning Season 23 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in just her fourth pro bout in 2016, Tatiana Suarez has looked the part of future champion in the making.
Little did anyone know, however, that Suarez (10-0), a native of Covina, California, who was a 2012 Olympic hopeful in the sport of wrestling, would need to wait an additional nine years in order to finally be healthy enough to take her shot at championship glory.
For most fighters, the heartbreak of dealing with constant injury and doubt, including a four-year gap at the peak of her prime when Suarez was sidelined, would have been enough to derail their hopes and dreams. But most fighters simply don’t possess the type of determination, drive and work ethic as the 34-year-old Suarez.
Each injury and setback has only added more fuel to Suarez’s incredible level of perseverance, which she was forced to develop long before fighting in the UFC was ever a thought in her mind. On Saturday, at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia, the unbeaten Suarez will finally get her shot at gold when she challenges Zhang Weili for the women’s strawweight title.
Suarez, who was named the 2007 national high school wrestler of the year, suffered a neck injury while training for the 2012 Olympics, only to find she had a cancerous growth on her thyroid, which effectively ended her amateur dreams.
Shortly after, Suarez discovered Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which eventually led to her training full-time in mixed martial arts. But any time Suarez made huge strides in MMA, including her 2016 TUF victory, injuries would follow in a run of bad luck that can only be compared to that of two-time former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz who, like Suarez, never complained publicly and never gave up on his dreams.
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“They have been saying [I would become champion] since I did win TUF because I had such a dominant run on the show,” Suarez told CBS Sports last week. “Right after, I kind of lost my momentum because I had a shoulder injury and needed surgery.
“They thought after I beat Nina Ansaroff [in 2019] that maybe I would get a title shot but then I hurt my neck and had to take two years off to rehabilitate. After that, I had a knee injury so it has just been a long and crazy journey.”
In 2023, Suarez finally returned to the Octagon and looked ready to make her dreams come true. She submitted veteran Montana De La Rosa with ease in her comeback from nearly four years away before steamrolling past former champion Jessica Andrade via second-round submission just six months later.
Unfortunately for Suarez, the injury bug caught up to her again as she pulled out of a scheduled bout last February with Amanda Lemos only to withdraw a second time in December ahead of a fight against Virna Jandriroba due to unspecified medical reasons.
Yet, despite her continued run of bad luck, the UFC still gave Suarez an immediate title shot once she was finally healthy. And despite just seven UFC fights over a nine-year period as she prepares to face a two-time champion in Zhang (25-3), who is considered one of the best female fighters in UFC history, Suarez enters her first title bout as a slight betting favorite.
“It’s amazing. When they called me for the shot, I just couldn’t even believe it,” Suarez said. “I was really happy and just thought, ‘Now is my time.’ I’m the No. 1 ranked strawweight in the world, so why wouldn’t they put me against the champion? Not only that, I’m undefeated. I just feel like it makes for a good matchup and [Zhang] has already beat the other two girls below me [in the rankings].”
The title matchup, which serves as the UFC 312 co-main event in support of a Dricus du Plessis-Sean Strickland middleweight title rematch, is such a compelling fight that Suarez hasn’t pulled any punches this week saying publicly she feels her fight is the real main event, which is something Zhang agreed with.
Not only are both fighters extremely well-rounded, Zhang is the rare elite foe at 115 pounds who has the type of strength and grappling skills to compete with Suarez on the ground. Zhang, 35, who has made a trio of title defenses over two reigns, told CBS Sports on Tuesday that she has nothing but respect for the skills of her opponent.
“I think Tatiana is a very dedicated athlete,” Zhang said. “Her sport career is very long and she has a lot of things that I hope to learn from her. I think all UFC fighters face their own challenges and have their own difficulties. I hope she has her best version and that I have my best version. I’m hoping that we will bring a perfect fight to the audience.”
Despite the credentials that Zhang, the first Chinese-born champion in UFC history, brings to the table, Suarez didn’t hesitate to share her prediction of a submission win. In fact, through 10 pro bouts, Suarez has seven finishes in all, including five via tap out.
“I feel like [Zhang] has good grappling and I think that our styles and the way they match up, I feel like I’m going to submit her,” Suarez said. “I have an array of submissions that most people don’t have. I can do a lot of different chokes. You don’t really see that in women’s MMA.”
It doesn’t hurt that Suarez has a live-in submission savant who trains alongside her in the form of her fiancee, former Bellator MMA featherweight champion Patchy Mix, who is one of the top MMA grapplers on the planet. Suarez made her official UFC debut by submitting Amanda Cooper at the TUF 23 finale in 2016 via brabo choke and isn’t against using that, or a variation known as a D’Arce choke, should she get the opportunity again.
“It would be real poetic if I got another D’Arce,” Suarez said. “I started my career with it and now I could win my first title with it.”
Although she’s not one to ask “what if” regarding her past and what could have been, Suarez did admit at media day on Wednesday that she already would have been champion had it not been for her injuries. But thanks to her insatiable drive and unwillingness to give up on her dreams, UFC 312 just might prove to be perfect timing, after all.
“I think [Zhang] is a great champion and everything that a champion should be,” Suarez said. “She’s humble, confident and a go-getter. I respect her as a champion. But I’m the real champion and I’m going to prove that [Saturday]. I think I can [break the will] of anybody in the world. I’m super relentless, I keep going.
“I’m just excited to compete again. I love competing and fighting, everything about it. For me, I’m always about proving things. I know people see my ability and see how great I am, and it’s very flattering. But now I just want to do it and that time is now. I thought it would be years ago but my time is now.”