Tatiana Suarez
USA
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 3-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 3-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.
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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.
Won't fight Jandiroba
Suarez is out of her strawweight fight against Virna Jandiroba scheduled for UFC 310 on Dec. 7, Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
It's unclear why Suarez can't fight at this juncture. This is a tough break for Suarez, who backed out of a fight in January against Amanda Lemos due to a knee injury. She'll now have to cancel a second-straight fight. Jandiroba, meanwhile, will need to find a fill-in opponent fast.
It's unclear why Suarez can't fight at this juncture. This is a tough break for Suarez, who backed out of a fight in January against Amanda Lemos due to a knee injury. She'll now have to cancel a second-straight fight. Jandiroba, meanwhile, will need to find a fill-in opponent fast.
Booked against Jandiroba
Suarez will fight Virna Jandiroba at UFC 310 on Dec. 7, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
After withdrawing from UFC 298 in January due to a knee injury, Suarez is now ready to return and will put her perfect 7-0 record as a UFC fighter on the line against Jandiroba, who boasts her own four-fight win streak.
After withdrawing from UFC 298 in January due to a knee injury, Suarez is now ready to return and will put her perfect 7-0 record as a UFC fighter on the line against Jandiroba, who boasts her own four-fight win streak.