Formally again in UFC title hunt, undefeated MMA vet Tatiana Suarez is aware of who she desires to struggle – and who she doesn’t.
Requested about potential matchups, Suarez welcomed a struggle with two-time strawweight champ Rose Namajunas, her soon-to-be colleague at 115 kilos after her profitable check at 125 kilos.
“I’m not scared to struggle the perfect individuals, as a result of meaning I’m the perfect, so I might like to struggle someone like Rose,” stated Suarez on the UFC Vegas 70 post-event press convention after her second-round submission win over Montana De La Rosa. “She’s superb striker. She’s superb martial artist. She, too, has overcome loads of issues in her life and I respect her as an individual.
“So once I say that I need to struggle them, it’s actually not disrespect. I’m not attempting to be disrespectful. I simply assume that, I need to struggle all the nice individuals, you recognize what I imply? And it’s out of respect that I need to try this. I really feel prefer it’s an honor to share a cage with someone.”
Suarez returned from a virtually four-year layoff courtesy of neck and knee accidents. When she left the 115-pound division, she was broadly considered within the hunt for a title shot. Her win over De La Rosa left her with choices for her subsequent problem. However she’d want to not re-tread previous floor, dismissing a query a couple of rematch with ex-champ Carla Esparza, whom she soundly defeated at UFC 228.
“I don’t assume anyone desires to see me struggle carla once more,” she laughed. “Let’s be actual like, it’s like, I might catch a case twice. No, we’re not doing that. [I’m] not saying that she hasn’t improved, however I simply assume that you just noticed the primary struggle, I don’t even assume that there can be something totally different concerning the second struggle with Carla. So let’s simply not try this one.”
UFC President Dana White is uncertain about the place Suarez suits, however he’s completely impressed by her comeback.
“We’ll see the place she results in the rankings and get a pair extra fights underneath her belt and see what occurs,” he stated. “There is no such thing as a doubt … she’s the most effective on the earth. There was loads of speak on the web and loads of hype about her coming again tonight. Lots of people are excited to see how she was gonna deal with adversity once more, and she or he got here out wanting superior.”
One factor was clear after Suarez’s dominant win: She works higher with private emotions invested in her fights. De La Rosa downplayed the hype she introduced into the octagon by saying she had outwrestled smaller opponents in earlier fights. She took that to coronary heart.
“Montana is hard, and I used to be actually honored to share the cage together with her, as a result of she has loads of fights, and she or he accepts actually troublesome fights, and I actually respect her for getting within the cage with me. I respect anyone who will get within the cage with me no matter what they are saying about me. I feel perhaps she stated a few issues that perhaps I didn’t like, however I used to be like, no matter. I did take it to coronary heart a bit bit, however then I used to be like, perhaps it’s gonna construct her up or no matter, make her really feel a bit bit higher.
“I simply strive to not take issues personally, however I’m a lady, and I typically you get a bit chip on the shoulder when somebody says one thing about us. … I feel she stated that perhaps as a result of all people was so small that I might solely wrestle them as a result of they have been small. Effectively, she’s 125-pounder, and I wrestled her and never solely that, however I skilled individuals with individuals a lot greater than her at apply and I can take them down.”
