Tatiana Suarez is a prospect to keep your eye on at 115 pounds.
The former Ultimate Fighter winner is a punishing wrestler who has shown extraordinary ability to finish fights on the ground. Tonight (Sat. September 8, 2018) she receives the biggest test of her fight career.
Suarez will fight former UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza. Esparza is a gifted wrestler in her own right and has shared the Octagon with the division’s best. Suarez knows Esparza is the best fighter she has fought thus far in her career (via MMA Junkie):
“She’s definitely the best fighter that I’ve faced so far by far,” Suarez said. “I look forward to putting my fighting out there and just show everybody what I can do.
“I’ve told so many people that because I don’t have the high-level competition – obviously they’re going to build you up and not just be like, ‘We’re going to put you up against the No. 1 person right away.’
“Some people sometimes that somehow happens, just not with me. But that’s OK, I like this route, this is a good route for me.
“I think this is going to be able to show the rest of my MMA and all of me that I’m a well-rounded fighter. People are going to see more of Tatiana. Before they only saw 1 percent of Tatiana. Now they’ll maybe see 2 percent of her.”
Title Shot
If Suarez is able to get past Esparza tonight, she thinks she’s only one or two fights away from a title opportunity:
“I definitely think when I win this fight there will be a title shot coming soon,” Suarez said.
“One or two fights, maybe even just one fight. I think I’ll fight a No. 1 or No. 2 contender, maybe like Claudia (Gadelha) or (Jessica) Andrade or Karolina (Kowalkiewicz) and then I’ll be right in line for that belt.”
Discussion: Do you think Suarez is one or two fights away from a title shot with a win over Esparza? Let us know in the comments!
