Tatiana Suarez Confirms She's Cleared To Fight Again, Targeting September UFC Return

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari - Zuffa LLC

UFC strawweight contender, Tatiana Suarez has confirmed that she has been medically cleared to return to active competition, with plans still in place for a leap to the 125lbs flyweight ranks upon her return to the Octagon. 

Out of action since June of 2019 where she managed a unanimous decision victory over Nina Nunes, Suarez has been plagued with a series of injuries ranging from neck and back issues, as well as a broken hand and she also suffered a concussion which hampered her return. 

Undefeated as a professional, Suarez, who was ranked as high as #3 in the official strawweight pile prior to her removal due to inactivity, has tasted success in each of her eight professional fights.

Despite her promotional-perfect run at 115lbs, Suarez recently claimed that she hopes to test flyweight waters upon her return to the UFC later this year, in a bid to determine if her performances diminish as a result of weight cutting.

"I want to see how I feel at 125 (lbs)," Suarez explained. "I've never missed weight, not even come close to missing weight. I've never had problems making weight... but come fight day, a lot of times I feel tired, and I feel not very strong. I don't think I cut that much weight because, at the start of my camp, I start at 130 (lbs) and then I get down to 126 and then I cut from there. I don't think that's abnormal for a strawweight."

"But I still think somewhere in that I lose strength, and my cardio doesn't feel as good," Suarez said. "When I'm at practice, I never feel tired, I never feel weak, so I'm like, maybe it's my weight cut."

Speaking with ESPN MMA reporter, Ariel Helwani this afternoon, Suarez confirmed that she has been medically cleared to return to professional mixed martial arts after an almost two-year layoff, and plans to begin preparations for a fight camp soon as she returns to live drilling and training. 

The wrestling standout also earmarked a potential Octagon return for September, although failed to rule out the possibility of a comeback in August.

"I was -- so, when I first started (live training) in February, I was like, you know, summer," Suarez said. "And I was thinking like, July or June but that's not gonna happen. So now I'm thinking maybe, hopefully like September. I'm hoping. Yeah -- even maybe August, we'll see."

A five-fight UFC veteran, Suarez claimed The Ultimate Fighter 23 strawweight tournament via an opening round D'Arce choke win over Amanda Cooper in July of 2016.

The 30-year-old Californian has notched other Octagon wins over the likes of Vivane Pereira, Alexa Grasso, and inaugural UFC and Invicta FC strawweight titleholder, Carla Esparza prior to her last win over Nunes.