At UFC 312 in Sydney, Tatiana Suarez is set to finally challenge for the strawweight title.
Suarez has long been considered to be a potential title contender but she has faced several setbacks outside of the cage.
Even her upcoming clash with Weili Zhang in Sydney will see her return for the first time since August of 2023.
Though it may have come as a surprise that she was jumping right into a title shot following this period, Suarez told UFC Unfiltered in a recent interview that she's taking it in her stride:
"I don't feel any different, you know, I feel like it's just another fight. Something for me, another challenge for me. I'm really excited because I've never had a five round fight and if anybody can do it, it's me."
Suarez was also keen to point out that though she has been inactive for some time, her injuries do not tell the full story of her career.
The 34-year old spoke about how she continues to work around her injuries in the gym in order to keep improving.
She also says that there has been difficulty finding fights at the top of the division even when she has been healthy which has added to the long breaks between her Octagon appearances.
Despite this, Suarez believes that the confidence she has in her skillset will allow her to perform at her best on February 8 at the Qudos Bank Arena.
"I just trust in, I have great footwork, it's not like I'm one of those stagnant fighters that are just in front you where I just stand and bang. I have good footwork, I have good range, I'm long for my weight class. I obviously have good wrestling and grappling, I'm a hybrid at this point. Before, I was just a wrestler. Now, I'm a hybrid. I'm great at Jiu-Jitsu and I'm great at wrestling so that makes it real tough for anybody to be beneath me."
Watch the full interview below:
