Tatiana Suarez isn’t too upset about being passed over for a title shot, given she’s been healing up a neck injury.
Las Vegas, NV — Tatiana Suarez felt like a lock for the next title shot in the UFC’s women’s strawweight division. Right up until she wasn’t. Suarez (8-0) has five straight wins in the UFC, and has been downright dominant. Most recently, she earned a unanimous decision win over Nina Ansaroff in June at UFC 238.
Instead, Weili Zhang got the nod, and will face Jessica Andrade at home at UFC Shenzhen in China.
Suarez, however, is not deterred. She’s confident in becoming champion some day — and more. “I do believe I’ll end up in the Hall of Fame one day. I would be honored,” she told Cageside Press at Friday’s UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
If nothing else, Zhang getting the next shot should give Suarez a little time to let her neck heal up. “It’s been doing well. I’ve been resting it. I had a little procedure done to help with the inflammation. Just waiting for that to kick in. Once I’m cleared, I expect to start training again.”
Which means that you could see her back in the fall. “I’m thinking 2019 [for my return]. I told them maybe around October.”
Because of the injury, it was no surprise to see someone jump in front of her for that title fight. “I figured since I was hurt that they’d give [the title shot] to someone else. That’s fine because I do need to heal it up and make sure that I’m 100-percent if I’m going to be fighting for a title shot.” With Jessica Andrade taking on Zhang at the end of August, Suarez could still be fighting for the strawweight title by the end of the year.
