Tatiana Suarez, a 34-year-old fighter, has overcome numerous obstacles, including thyroid cancer, debilitating neck and knee injuries, to become a top contender in the UFC. Suarez will face Chinese strawweight queen Weili Zhang at UFC 312, looking to prove her dominance and cement her legacy in the world of women's MMA.
When Ronda Rousey was headkicked out of a UFC title and plenty more here in Australia 10 years ago, Tatiana Suarez watched on from a couch in California. Tatiana Suarez , a young American wrestling prodigy, had already fought and beaten thyroid cancer. Yet to come, a run of neck and knee injuries so bad that she would eventually disappear off for those four arduous years comprising much of her recent documentary: The Unbreakable Tatiana Suarez .
'Same as beforehand, I still remember Holly Holm saying how she'd win, saying how Ronda was going to get overzealous and how she was going to KO her', Suarez recalled. Nine years after first being touted a 'f***ing monster', title challenger and the next Ronda Rousey, 34-year-old Suarez is now finally getting the chance to go prove it all – and more -- at UFC 312. Throwing down against Chinese strawweight queen Weili Zhang, Suarez isn’t only looking to continue her undefeated tear of 10 straight wins, but come good on a story that has proved equal parts promise, misfortune and who knows how many hours of grind. For a start, Rousey has long been usurped in the women’s GOAT debate by Amanda Nunes, while others like Zhang and Valentina Shevchenko are inking their own legacies. Despite her standing as one of the most dominant forces in women’s MMA and wrestling over the past two decades, the American has still never competed for a UFC championship or Olympic medal. In the past six years, this unluckiest of UFC fighters has thrown down inside an Octagon only three times. DAILY TELEGRAPH FEBRUARY 6, 2025. Tatiana Suarez, No. 1 UFC strawweight during the UFC 312 press conference held at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney Olympic Park. Picture: Jonathan Ng Yet as far back as 2019, The Athletic’s Josh Gross was already revealing the confidence her then head coach Betiss Mansouri was extolling in conversations with UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby. Later in the article, he continued: “This one is a fucking monster, man ... she’s going to generate a lot of fucking money as long as she’s healthy.” “But ever since starting out in MMA, I’ve known I can be the best,” Suarez tells Fox Sports Australia. “I know I’ve got the work ethic.” “It’s just been such a different route for me,” she concedes. “But then ... yeah, there’s just been so many breaks.” So what has kept Suarez in it then, especially when more than a couple of people were suggesting she retire? “That’s what has kept me going, knowing I’m the best in the world. I can’t be that person sat on my couch saying ‘oh, I could’ve done this and that if only I had continued with it all’.” Certainly one fighter well aware of Suarez’s talent – and grit – is Sean Strickland, that UFC 312 headliner who has spent more than a decade sharing gyms in California and now Las Vegas. This week recounting an old yarn from their days at the Millennia gym, Strickland said of Suarez: “So she’s sparring, and just beating up this guy. And her coach at the time was like, ‘Whoa, Tatiana, chill out!’ “So Tatiana, while dropping the heat, looks at him , ‘F*** you’ and just keeps f***ing blasting this guy’s face. But you want to know real scary? Well, consider that after defeating Nina Nunes in 2019, her fourth straight win following that TUF triumph, it was revealed afterwards how Suarez had worsened a neck injury initially suffered while training in camp. Incredibly, it would keep the UFC title contender out two years – and through the type of rehabilitation process that is stretching your neck, she says, for three hours every day. ‘I just remember sitting there on the mat, couldn’t believe it. And my knee, it was the wrong way …’ UFC 312: Du Plessis v Strickland 2 | SUN 9 FEB | UFC middleweight king Dricus du Plessis is headed back Down Under for yet another title defence, with the South African set to face Sean Strickland in a blockbuster UFC 312 headliner in Sydney. Eventually, the fighter underwent surgery for a full ACL, MCL and LCL reconstruction and meniscus repair. ‘(Laughs) and I don’t have big legs. So as for how dark things got
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