Tatiana Suarez, who many pegged as a future champion, is getting ready to return to the Octagon and will do so at flyweight.
Suarez has not fought since she beat Nina Nunes at UFC 238 and has been dealing with a neck injury since then. However, Suarez is doing better and is expected to return later this year.
When she returns, Suarez will likely get a top-ranked flyweight. Yet, the undefeated fighter is already thinking about a future matchup with Shevchenko and how the grappling exchanges would go.
“I think my grappling, in general, is definitely better than Jessica’s,” Suarez told The 1, 2 Podcast with Kendrick and James. “Because everybody thought Jessica would have the upper hand, I didn’t think that at all.
“I just think that Jessica is strong. I don’t think that Jessica is technically the best grappler at 125. I would never say that. I just think she’s very powerful and strong and I truly believe that my grappling is way beyond her’s in terms of technique. So if I fought Valentina, I don’t think she would be able to impose the same game that she did with Andrade.”
If Shevchenko and Suarez do end up fighting, it would be intriguing due to the fact Suarez is a great wrestler and grappler. However, it’s uncertain the champ would even want to grapple with her and instead could choose to strike.
Yet, Suarez believes the champ would look to take her down eventually.
“I’m open to her trying to grapple with me too because I’m a very defensive grappler,” Suarez said. “She has a really good body lock, I have a really good body lock. Honestly, I just think it would be a really good fight if we were grappling together. I really feel like my technique is pretty good, I’ve been wrestling my whole life so I’m not shy to grapple with somebody ever.”
