Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis was the Fight of the Night at UFC 297, but according to Tatiana Suarez, her title date with Zhang Weili at UFC 312 has the caliber to be as good as the headline fight of the card. In fact, a few days ago, she predicted that it would definitely not be a boring fight. Why? Well, that’s because she is bringing some special surprises to the fight, as she hinted in the UFC 312 pre-fight press conference.
While everyone expected the fighters to answer the questions asked by the media, UFC welterweight Li Jingliang made the surprise appearance to ask Zhang Weili and Tatiana Suarez a question or two. Knowing how good Tatiana is when it comes to wrestling, the Chinese fighter questioned his fellow compatriot Weili if she was prepared for the fight and would be the one to initiate the first takedown considering how good she is in both striking and wrestling.
Confident in herself, the reigning strawweight champion simply replied, “Okay, my knees are ready. My knees are ready.” However, when Tatiana was asked the same question by Jingliang, the title challenger claimed that she is all prepared to fight the Chinese fighter and also has a trick or two up her sleeve. Giving a savage reply, she said, “It doesn’t even matter, because if she tries to take me down, I have something for her, and if I take her down, I have something for her.”
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Li Jingliang asked Zhang Weili and Tatiana Suarez questions at the #UFC312 press conference. pic.twitter.com/NlxXTwYIzW
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 6, 2025
Despite being in the UFC since 2016, Suarez, undefeated in MMA with a 10-0 record, has only competed seven times within the organization. But those wins were good enough that she claims the first place in the division rankings. In fact, she has promised that her next fight will be the one where she earns the title and also delivers a performance that may become the fight of the night.
Tatiana Suarez promised the real main event against Zhang Weili
Tatiana Suarez’s undefeated record weighs on the bookmakers. Although the Californian challenges Zhang Weili in the co-main event of UFC 312, one of the best exponents in the history of Strawweight, she is listed as a favorite, according to the odds handled by DraftKings, by -122. Suarez, also the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 23 116-pound tournament, is undefeated in the UFC and also has victories against former champions such as Jéssica Andrade, Alexa Grasso, and Carla Esparza.
So, she is definitely confident in her skills and has promised to deliver a perfect fight that will be better than the main event of the night. Speaking to MMA Fighting, she said, “I think it’s going to be fireworks. I think we’re both go-getters. She doesn’t stand around. I don’t stand around. So it doesn’t make for a boring fight, I don’t think at all. I think we’re both going after it. We both want to win. We both work really, really hard. I think it makes for a good co-main event. I think it’s the real main event, but we’re not big dudes, so we didn’t get the main event slot.”
Zhang, currently in his second reign, hasn’t seen action since a successful title defense over compatriot Yan Xiaonan on the UFC 300 Main Card. So, it would be interesting to see if she manages to retain it against a challenger as good as Suarez. What do you think? Who will win the fight? Let us know in the comments.
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