Tatiana Suarez finally will get her first crack at a UFC championship.
Suarez (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) challenges strawweight champion Zhang Weili (25-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in the co-main event of UFC 312 on Feb. 9 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
Suarez was scheduled to face Virna Jandiroba earlier this month at UFC 310, but the bout was scrapped when Suarez withdrew due to undisclosed reasons. It was then announced that she will challenge Weili for the strawweight title.
“I’ve been good since June of this year,” Suarez told UFC Unfiltered. “When you’re at the top of the division, for some reason it’s really hard to get fights, especially because there’s not that many matchups. When I was healthy, everybody was already matched up in the top 10, and they’re probably not going to do a top 15 against the No. 1 girl.
“I had asked for a fight, and I wanted to fight Weili in August or September, but she was busy with obligations that she had as a champion. Then that didn’t happen, and then we were going to fight Virna, and now we’re going to go ahead and fight Weili in February. But I’ve been good for a while now. I’ve been training hard, it’s just that we haven’t been able to get a fight because of the matchups and stuff. The division was kind of messed up. Everybody was matched up.”
Suarez beat the likes of former UFC champions Alexa Grasso, Carla Esparza, and Jessica Andrade en route to a title shot, but inactivity delayed her title shot. But despite the tumultuous road, Suarez is ready to live up to her championship potential.
“My mental strength is second to none,” Suarez said. “I think that plays a huge factor in fighting in general. When the bright lights shine, so do I. I always rise to the occasion, and I have so much experience in another sport, too. I wrestled my whole life. I’ve had so much pressure put on me my entire life.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 312.
