Nearly four years away didn’t slow down Tatiana Suarez from picking up right where she left off in her return at UFC Vegas 70.
The former Olympic hopeful was sidelined by injuries since 2019, but Suarez still looked dominant after taking a nasty choke with the guillotine to beat Montana De La Rosa. The end came at 2:51 in the second round after Suarez latched onto the choke with no plans of letting go until De La Rosa either tapped or went to sleep.
” I’m so happy,” Suarez exclaimed, while still shedding tears following the victory. This is something I’ve been imagining for quite some time. It’s really hard when you can’t do what you love to do the most.
” For me, it was just a feeling that I felt. I could tell anyone going through difficult times to stay positive because things will turn out fine .”
It didn’t take long for Suarez to turn to her wrestling as she engaged in the clinch before dragging De La Rosa down to the mat just seconds into the opening round. From there, Suarez methodically started working her ground and pound game with De La Rosa trying to scramble back to her feet.
Suarez remained in control, but De La Rosa was unable to make things easy as flyweights were fighting for their position.
Even in the moments when De La Rosa did a good job to avoid getting stuck against the cage, Suarez was still able to toss her to the ground to showcase her grappling dominance.
De La Rosa was eventually freed, but Suarez saw an opportunity for Suarez to use a front headlock which quickly turned into a Guillotine choke. As soon as Suarez had the neck, she fell to her back, locked on her legs and just waited for the moment when De La Rosa couldn’t take anymore.
Despite a valiant effort to break free, De La Rosa eventually had to tap out as Suarez moved to 9-0 in her career with a perfect 6-0 campaign in the UFC. Following the win, Suarez confirmed plans to return to the strawweight division where she was arguably a win away from a title shot prior to the injuries that kept her out of action for over three years.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/25/23615203/ufc-vegas-70-video-tatiana-suarez-wins-return-tapping-out-montana-de-la-rosa-nasty-guillotine-choke?rand=96749
