Tatiana Suarez Shoots Down Rematch With Former Champion

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Tatiana Suarez is ready to take on some of the top competition the UFC has to offer, but she isn’t interested in meeting a former champion that she’s already beaten.
The 32-year-old entered the Octagon for the first time in nearly four years when she met Montana De La Rosa in a women’s flyweight bout on the main card of UFC Fight Night 220. Suarez’s return was one of the major talking points for fans leading up to the event, and the undefeated fighter returned in impressive fashion when she submitted De La Rosa in the second round.
Prior to the injuries that caused her lengthy layoff, Suarez was one of the most promising young talents in the UFC and appeared to be on the fast track to strawweight title contention.
The 32-year-old added four wins to her undefeated record after winning Season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter, and at the UFC Fight Night 220 post-fight press conference Suarez was asked what kind of a matchup she was looking for next following her successful return to action.
Suarez Dismisses Rematch With Carla Esparza
Suarez immediately seemed open to the idea of fighting a former champion, but when Carla Esparza was suggested as an opponent the 32-year-old quickly brushed the idea off.
“I don’t think anybody wants to see me fight Carla again, let’s be real,” Suarez answered. “It’s like, I would catch a case twice, you know? No, we’re not doing that. Not saying that she hasn’t improved, but I just think that you saw the first fight. I don’t even think that there would be anything different about a second fight with Carla. So let’s just not do that one.”
Suarez and Esparza faced each other at UFC 228. (Zuffa LLC)
Esparza became the UFC’s inaugural strawweight champion in 2014, but the 35-year-old lost her title when she met Joanna J?drzejczyk at UFC 185. Suarez and Esparza ended up meeting at UFC 228, where the former champion was stopped by ground and pound in the third round.
“The Cookie Monster” put together five-straight wins after losing to Suarez, which earned her a chance to regain her title at UFC 274. That infamous second meeting with Rose Namajunas turned out to be one of the most uneventful fights in UFC history, but Esparza did walk away as champion before losing the belt in her next fight against Weili Zhang.
Suarez’s win at UFC Fight Night 220 certainly gave the impression that she could be a future title challenger, but it remains to be seen how the 32-year-old might look in a return to the strawweight division after winning her women’s flyweight matchup with De La Rosa.
Do you think that Suarez is right to dismiss the idea of a rematch with Esparza?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.

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Tatiana Suarez is ready to take on some of the top competition the UFC has to offer, but she isn’t interested in meeting a former champion that she’s already beaten.


The 32-year-old entered the Octagon for the first time in nearly four years when she met Montana De La Rosa in a women’s flyweight bout on the main card of UFC Fight Night 220. Suarez’s return was one of the major talking points for fans leading up to the event, and the undefeated fighter returned in impressive fashion when she submitted De La Rosa in the second round.


Prior to the injuries that caused her lengthy layoff, Suarez was one of the most promising young talents in the UFC and appeared to be on the fast track to strawweight title contention.


The 32-year-old added four wins to her undefeated record after winning Season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter, and at the UFC Fight Night 220 post-fight press conference Suarez was asked what kind of a matchup she was looking for next following her successful return to action.


Suarez Dismisses Rematch With Carla Esparza
Suarez immediately seemed open to the idea of fighting a former champion, but when Carla Esparza was suggested as an opponent the 32-year-old quickly brushed the idea off.


“I don’t think anybody wants to see me fight Carla again, let’s be real,” Suarez answered. “It’s like, I would catch a case twice, you know? No, we’re not doing that. Not saying that she hasn’t improved, but I just think that you saw the first fight. I don’t even think that there would be anything different about a second fight with Carla. So let’s just not do that one.”

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tatiana-suarez-carla-esparza-ufc-228-5.jpg.optimal.jpg
Suarez and Esparza faced each other at UFC 228. (Zuffa LLC)
Esparza became the UFC’s inaugural strawweight champion in 2014, but the 35-year-old lost her title when she met Joanna J?drzejczyk at UFC 185. Suarez and Esparza ended up meeting at UFC 228, where the former champion was stopped by ground and pound in the third round.


“The Cookie Monster” put together five-straight wins after losing to Suarez, which earned her a chance to regain her title at UFC 274. That infamous second meeting with Rose Namajunas turned out to be one of the most uneventful fights in UFC history, but Esparza did walk away as champion before losing the belt in her next fight against Weili Zhang.


Suarez’s win at UFC Fight Night 220 certainly gave the impression that she could be a future title challenger, but it remains to be seen how the 32-year-old might look in a return to the strawweight division after winning her women’s flyweight matchup with De La Rosa.


Do you think that Suarez is right to dismiss the idea of a rematch with Esparza?


Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.








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