In the co-main event of UFC 312 this past Saturday night, we saw a highly anticipated strawweight title fight. Champion Zhang Weili (26-3) was looking to defend her title against arguably her toughest challenger in the strawweight division in Tatiana Suarez (10-1).
Suarez entered the octagon on Saturday night with an undefeated record and despite her limited time in the octagon over the past few years due to injury, Suarez was the betting favorite. Suarez is huge for the division and she’s the best wrestler Zhang Weili has ever faced.
I couldn’t believe that she closed as the favorite considering just how dominant of a champion Zhang Weili has been. However, the first round showed why many believed that Suarez would win this fight. She was able to take down and control Weili for the majority of the round. However, Weili was able to reverse things and get on top near the end of the first round.
This round was the only round where Suarez saw any success. Starting in the second round, she had no success taking Weili down. In fact, it was Weili who was able to reverse takedown attempts to take down Suarez. On the feet, Suarez was completely dominated by Weili who rocked her multiple times.
By the end of the fifth round, Suarez looked battered and Zhang Weili had made a massive statement that she’s still the best in the world. UFC 312 was a very humbling night for the challenger.
What’s next after UFC 312?
Tatiana Suarez is a beast and I think she was definitely the toughest challenger at 115 for Zhang Weili. However, what killed her on Saturday night was her lack of development and championship experience. Suarez had been able to run through all her opponents using just her wrestling and grappling. She had also never been past the third round in her professional career. These were big red flags for me and those red flags showed on Saturday night.
For the first time, Suarez faced an opponent who could match her in the grappling and she faced an opponent far superior in striking as well as cardio. As a result, she got beaten up badly at UFC 312 and now she needs to go back to the drawing board. I ultimately think this will be a good learning experience for Suarez. She took to Instagram earlier this morning to reflect on the loss.
“Champions don’t show up to get everything they want; they show up to give everything they have.” And that’s what I’ll do every single time. No matter what! I love it all. Win, lose or draw, I’m right where I want to be. Doing what I love to do every single day of my life. I have the best people around me that love me for me. Living the dream! It’s all about the right mindset and life has taught me time and time again. I’ve experienced it all thrill, agony, happiness, heartbreak. That’s what life is all about. I’m blessed to have this life. And I’ll share these experiences with my children and the future generations to come. Thank you to my friends, family, teammates, coaches and fiancé for being there every single time no matter what. Love you guys! On to the next!
Tatiana Suarez via Instagram
Suarez will be back if she can stay healthy and I think she’ll challenge for a UFC title again. That said, who should be next for Suarez when she makes her return? I think a great opponent would’ve been Virna Jandiroba who she was originally supposed to face in December before getting the call for a title shot.
However, Jandiroba is going to face Yan Xiaonan at UFC 314 in Miami. With those two facing each other, I think a great opponent for Suarez would be Mackenzie Dern. While Suarez might be the best pure wrestler in the division, Dern is the best pure jiu jitsu practitioner. This would be such a fascinating chess match on the ground and I think this would be a great fight to make next.