This past Saturday night on the main card of UFC Vegas 70, we saw the highly anticipated return of one of the best female fighters on the planet. Tatiana Suarez (9-0) made her return in the flyweight division opposite Montana De La Rosa (12-8-1) on Saturday night.
The last time we saw Suarez was back in 2019. She looked like a fighter who was destined to become a UFC champion. She ran through the likes of Carla Esparza and dominated her with wrestling. Suarez looked like a nightmare for the strawweight division.
However, a series of injuries kept Suarez out of action for nearly four years. Saturday night she returned and didn’t look like she missed a beat. De La Rosa was a good challenge for her to return to. De La Rosa is a natural flyweight and has grappling skills that could’ve presented challenges for Suarez.
Suarez was fighting up for her first time back to ease back into competition. Turns out, the extra weight and skills of De La Rosa were no problem for her. After a dominant first round, she was able to get a guillotine in the second to secure a submission win and successful UFC return.
Who is next after UFC Vegas 70?
As mentioned, Suarez made it clear that she wants to move back down to strawweight. This flyweight fight was simply to get back in the cage and ease into competition without a major weight cut given how long she’s been off. Now that she’s competed again, she’s ready to drop back down.
Suarez has said that she loves a matchup against former two-time UFC champion Rose Namajunas. However, I’m not sure that fight is in the cards right now. Suarez is ranked 13th with the updated rankings that just came out and I think she’ll need at least two wins before she gets a title shot.
In May, Angela Hill and Mackenzie Dern will battle. I think the winner of that fight could make a ton of sense for Suarez. Perhaps even the winner of Marina Rodriguez – Virna Jandiroba could make sense. She’ll get someone near the back end of the top ten next and then perhaps a top five opponent after that depending on if she wins and how she looks.