UFC Vegas 70 will see light heavyweight fighters Nikita Krylov and Ryan Spann fighting in a 5-round contest. In the co-main, Andre Muniz is set to fight Brendan Allen in the middleweight division. However, the card will also see the return of Tatiana Suarez. She has stayed out of action due to multiple injuries since June 2019. At one point, there were also talks of her retiring.
Suarez currently has an undefeated record of 8-0. Tatiana introduced herself to the UFC audiences through “The Ultimate Fighter.” She was a part of Claudia Gadelha’s team in TUF 23. Suarez ultimately went on to win the whole competition after she defeated Amanda Cooper in 2016. The submission win earned her a $50,000 post-fight bonus and a UFC contract.
She only has 5 fights in the UFC since 2016. However, Suarez has beaten the former UFC strawweight champ, Carla Esparza. The 32-year-old also has wins over Viviane Pereira and the women’s flyweight title contender, Alexa Grasso. Tatiana’s last fight came against Amanda Nunes‘ wife Nina Nunes. Suarez won the fight at UFC 238 via unanimous decision. She has 5 finishes in her career, with 3 submissions and 2 knockouts.
Who is Tatiana Suarez fighting at UFC Vegas 70?
Tatiana Suarez has had an inspiring journey so far. She was a top prospect in amateur wrestling and was ready to represent the United States of America in the 2012 Olympics. But that did not happen due to a neck injury that unearthed something much more severe. While she was getting treatment for her neck injury, doctors discovered that Suarez had thyroid cancer.
However, being the fighter that Suarez is, she underwent surgery and defeated cancer. But that was not the end of her medical ailments. Her neck injury has kept her out of action since the win over Nina Nunes in 2019. It took her almost 2 years to heal from the injury and she was ready to come back at UFC 266 and fight Roxanne Modafferi. But she had to pull out because of another knee injury.
It took her another one and a half years to overcome the injury. But she is now all set to return to the Octagon and feels completely healthy. In an interview with the UFC, Suarez spoke about her journey through the injury and her much-anticipated return.
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She added, “It was more difficult to come back than I thought… I feel great, I haven’t had any problems in my knee the entire camp, so I’m really happy about that. It hasn’t given me any trouble.” (h/t via UFC)
Although Tatiana Suarez won TUF 23 as a strawweight fighter, she will make her return at flyweight. She is set to fight Montana De La Rosa, who is unranked in the division. However, it is the perfect fight for Suarez on her comeback. If she does win, fans can expect her to fight better competition and make a run for the title.