Tag Archives: Tatiana Suarez

 Jessica Andrade to Face Tatiana Suarez in Co-Main Event of UFC Nashville

Posted on by
Reply

 Jessica Andrade is readying for one of the UFC’s biggest non-title fights at strawweight.

The 31-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a former UFC women’s strawweight champion, will face the undefeated Tatiana Suarez in the co-main event of UFC Nashville on August 5, the promotion announced Tuesday.

Jessica Andrade

Suarez was initially scheduled to face Virna Jandiroba, but Jandiroba suffered a torn ligament in her knee that could keep her out quite a while, according to Jandiroba’s manager Tiago Okamura.

In the UFC’s contender rankings, Andrade is ranked No. 5 and Suarez is No. 10 at 115 pounds.

Andrade (24-11) will try to snap a two-fight losing streak.

The Brazilian-born fighter is coming off a knockout loss to Yan Xiaonan at UFC 288 last month. Andrade beat Rose Namajunas to win the UFC women’s strawweight title in 2019. She has the second-most wins in women’s UFC history (15).

Suarez (9-0) returned from nearly four years out due to injuries in February with a second-round submission win over Montana De La Rosa in the flyweight division. The California native won “The Ultimate Fighter” at strawweight back in 2016 but has fought just five times since because of injury issues.

Suarez, 32, nearly made the 2012 U.S. wrestling Olympics team but had to withdraw because of a neck injury and thyroid cancer.

UFC Nashville will be headlined by a bantamweight contest between striker Cory Sandhagen and rising prospect Umar Nurmagomedov, the cousin of former pound-for-pound king Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Tatiana Suarez Medically Cleared for UFC Return in Near Future

Posted on by
Reply

Tatiana Suarez is cleared for combat…

The 30-year-old Mexican American professional mixed martial artist, one of the best women’s MMA fighters in the world, is finally close to returning to the Octagon.

Tatiana SuarezSuarez told ESPN in a video interview published Wednesday that she has been medically cleared by doctors and is targeting a return to the UFC in September, or perhaps even as early as August.

Suarez has been sidelined by a recurring bulging disc in her neck since June 2019.

“I’m super excited to get back out there,” she said. “It’s fun to practice, for sure. But it’s just different competing. Everybody knows that. It’s super exciting to just show what you’re working on.”

Suarez (8-0) said she was cleared for live training in February, but then she broke her hand and suffered a concussion while wrestling in her front yard with her boyfriend. Those were minor setbacks, she said, but she has been back to training now for the past several weeks and plans on starting a training camp “soon.”

When she comes back, Suarez said she plans to try her hand at a new division: flyweight. Suarez had dominated the UFC’s women’s strawweight division before the injury cropped up two years ago. But she said that cutting to 115 pounds left her feeling weak and tired on fight night and not as explosive as she is in training. Suarez said she’d like to see what it feels like to compete at 125 pounds, at least initially upon her return.

“Maybe if I’m not cutting too much weight at all, I’ll be a little more stronger and explosive,” Suarez said.

Suarez has won all five of her UFC fights and was the Ultimate Fighter 23 winner in 2016. The California native came close to competing in the 2012 Summer Olympics in wrestling, but the neck injury and a bout with thyroid cancer marred those plans.

Suarez has wins over former UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza and current flyweight contender Alexa Grasso.

When asked how she thinks she could match up with women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, one of the top three women’s fighters on the planet, Suarez said she believes very well.

“I do think I have a good skill set in terms of my wrestling [that] can give her trouble,” Suarez said.