Officially back in UFC title hunt, undefeated MMA vet Tatiana Suarez knows who she wants to fight – and who she doesn’t.
Asked about potential matchups, Suarez welcomed a fight with two-time strawweight champ Rose Namajunas, her soon-to-be colleague at 115 pounds after her successful test at 125 pounds.
” I don’t fear fighting the best people because it means that I am the best. So I would love fight someone like Rose,” Suarez said at UFC Vegas 70 after winning her second round submission victory over Montana De La Rosa. “She’s amazing striker. She’s amazing martial artist. Her life has been filled with many challenges. I admire her for that.
“So when I say that I want to fight them, it’s really not disrespect. I’m not trying to be disrespectful. It’s just that I think this, and I would like to help all of the outstanding people. And it’s out of respect that I want to do that. It’s an honour to be able to share a cage .”
with someone.
Suarez returned from a nearly four-year layoff courtesy of neck and knee injuries. When she left the 115-pound division, she was widely thought to be in the hunt for a title shot. Her win over De La Rosa left her with options for her next challenge. She didn’t want to go back to the same old territory, so she asked about a rematch against Carla Esparza (ex-champ) which she beat at UFC 228..
” “I don’t believe anybody wants me to fight carla again,” she chuckled. Let’s just be honest, I’d catch the case twice. No, we’re not doing that. She has not improved. [I’m] I’m not saying she’s worse, but you did see the first fight and I can’t imagine anything being different for the second one with Carla. So let’s just not do that one.”
UFC President Dana White is unsure about where Suarez fits, but he’s thoroughly impressed by her comeback.
” We’ll watch where she finishes up in the rankings, get a few more fights under our belts and see what happens,” said he. “There is no doubt … she’s one of the best in the world. There was a lot of talk on the internet and a lot of hype about her coming back tonight. Many people were excited to see her handle the adversity once again. She looked amazing .”
One thing became clear following Suarez’s win over her opponent: Her fights are more enjoyable when she is invested in personal feelings. De La Rosa dismissed the media hype by saying that she has outwrestled smaller opponents before. That was something she took to heart.
“Montana can be tough. I felt honored to share the cage. She has had a lot fights and is willing to take on difficult fights. I also respect the fact that she got in the cage. No matter what others say, I value anyone who is willing to share the cage with my. I think maybe she said a couple of things that maybe I didn’t like, but I was like, whatever. It was something I took to heart, and then I thought, perhaps it’s going to build her up, or whatever, help her feel a bit better.
“I just try not to take things personally, but I am a woman, and I sometimes you get a little chip on the shoulder when someone says something about us. … She said it because I couldn’t wrestle everyone because I was too small. Well, she’s 125-pounder, and I wrestled her and not only that, but I trained people with people much bigger than her at practice and I can take them down.”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/28/23615367/tatiana-suarez-loves-rose-namajunas-matchup-nixes-carla-esparza-rematch-i-would-catch-a-case-twice?rand=96749
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