Tatiana Suarez will make her return to the UFC Octagon after a long layoff. Fighting on the main card of UFC Vegas 70, Suarez will make her first appearance since 2019. As such, she recaps everything that she has been through in that time.
Previously, Suarez had to put her career on hold due to neck issues. Following that Suarez was meant to make her return against Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 266. However, another setback, this time in the form of a devastating knee injury, kept her out of the Octagon for nearly 2 years.
Speaking to the press on UFC Media day, Tatiana says, “I had to be on crutches (for about 8-10 weeks).” Further, she reveals more about her journey to recovery. “So, I had to relearn how to walk and run, it was crazy. And I guess if I do an injury I just kinda go all-out you know, my story is just like I can’t be happy and it’s gonna be like super dramatic I guess.”
Now, Suarez will make her return against the veteran Montana De La Rosa in a flyweight contest. Fighting at the UFC Apex on Saturday, Tatiana is determined to put together a string of performances and challenge for the title. Although she will be returning at flyweight, the 32-year-old has set her sights on strawweight champ Zhang Weili as well.
A leg injury kept Tatiana Suarez out for almost 2 years
Currently, Suarez holds an unblemished 8-0 professional record. Following her submission victory over Amanda Cooper at The Ultimate Fighter 23 finale in 2016, Tatiana took home a $50,000 post-fight bonus and a UFC contract. After that, she would go on to fight 5 times in the UFC before her injury.
In her short stint, Tatiana showed glimpses of some amazing skills. As such, Suarez collected wins over Vivianne Pereira, flyweight contender Alexa Grasso, former UFC strawweight champ, Carla Esparza, and Amanda Nunes‘ wife Nina Nunes. Thus, one can say that Suarez was on a bit of a hot streak prior to her leg injury.
Speaking about her injury, Tatiana said the following. “I was wrestling at my brother’s school and I sustained a really bad knee injury. I tore like, every single ligament in my knee except for the PCL. So, I tore my ACL, my MCL, my LCL, my lateral meniscus, it was a brutal injury so it was a little bit tough to come back.”
Despite sustaining such severe injuries and having to re-learn how to walk, Suarez has made her recovery. Whilst a lot of people would have walked away from the sport, Tatiana still believes she has what it takes to be a champion. As such, Tatiana Suarez will be looking to make a statement with her win at UFC Vegas 70 and try to break into the women’s flyweight rankings.