Cloak And Dagger, Searching For MMA Star Tatiana Suarez

June 3, 2021,

Where has she been? Do we need to hire a detective to find her?

What has she been up to?

According to a recent ESPN interview, wrestling with her boyfriend at home.

Well, good to know, but we’d like to see her wrestle with someone other than her boyfriend in the Octagon.

When will we see her again?

On May 19, 2021, espn.com reported, “Tatiana Suarez, one of the best women's MMA fighters in the world, is finally close to returning to the Octagon.

Suarez told ESPN's Ariel Helwani in a video interview published Wednesday that she has been medically cleared by doctors and is targeting a return to the UFC in September, or perhaps even as early as August.”

Great. We can’t wait. August can’t get here fast enough. We’re trying not to get too excited since Tatiana has been out of action since June of 2019 with a recurring neck injury.

An undefeated record is always impressive enough to arouse curiosity about how you achieved that accomplishment and who you beat to get there.

That is what many were wondering about Tatiana Suarez as she initially boasts a perfect 8-0 record.

fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetitor.com, fcielitecompetitor.com Editorial credit: Dawid S Swierczek / Shutterstock.com

How did she get there indeed?

Perhaps it is best to start at the very beginning. We loved her journey. Let’s walk down memory lane together. Hope you can take a punch.

And a kick too.

Tatiana is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) with a background in wrestling.

She was the straw weight tournament winner in the 23rd season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show.

Not bad for a girl from Northview High in Covina, California.

Given that she has been wrestling since she was four, perhaps it should be expected.

She is a two-time bronze medalist in the world championships of freestyle wrestling. In 2011, she was ranked the number one freestyle wrestler in the USA at 121 pounds.

Tatiana is a four-time High School Wrestling National Champion, two-time World Medalist in Freestyle Wrestling, and the 2013 IBJJF World Champion as a white belt, and the 2015 IBJJF World Champion as a blue belt.

We love following the WCWA and Tatiana shined at Lindenwood University. Given her talent, we wondered where she would excel after her collegiate career.

Granted there have been Olympians and world-class competitors from other female sports pathways who have made the transition to mixed martial arts in the past with varying degrees of success, Tatiana greatly benefits from crossing over into Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA at a point where she’s been able to combine the two disciplines together.

The great news is that she is still just starting out.

Tatiana began training MMA in 2013 and made her Amateur debut in February 2014 defeating Elizabeth Rodriguez by TKO in the first round. She fought again only one month later and defeated Jessica Pryor by unanimous decision before deciding to turn pro.

The future was only going to get brighter.

Tatiana made her successful professional MMA debut in July 2014 in the Gladiator Challenge promotion defeating Tyra Parker by unanimous decision.

She returned in April 2015 and submitted Carolina Alvarez by arm bar in the first round. She made her final appearance for the promotion in August 2015 defeating Arline Coban by TKO in the second round.

This victory earned her the Gladiator Challenge championship in the California State Championship Series.

How did she get so far and so high? Now we’re beginning to understand why.

She is impressing the media in high places. At the long time respecting sports and news source sportingnews.com they praise, “As of this moment, she is the best prospect in the UFC. Not the best female prospect. Not the best American prospect. Not the best undefeated prospect. The best prospect, period.”

Now that is what we call great admiration.

What makes all of this even more spectacular was what Tatiana had to overcome.

While training for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, our rising star suffered a severe neck injury, which would derail her Olympic aspirations.

An MRI and CAT scan not only revealed a bothersome disc in her neck, but a cancerous growth on her thyroid. Suarez underwent radiation therapy and had her thyroid and several lymph nodes removed.

According to The Mayo Clinic, thyroid cancer occurs in the cells of the thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of your neck, just below your Adam's apple. Your thyroid produces hormones that regulate your heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and weight.

Although thyroid cancer isn't common in the United States, rates seem to be increasing.

Most people with thyroid cancer have no known risk factors, so it is not possible to prevent most cases of this disease.

After successful treatment, her thyroid cancer was gone and she eventually began to train again.

The love from fans world over poured in, happy about her being a cancer survivor.

Given her strong community roots, that shouldn’t be a big surprise.

It is time to travel to Covina, California.

Covina is a city about 22 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, in the San Gabriel Valley region.

The population was 47,796 at the 2010 census, up from 46,837 at the 2000 census.

We love the town’s slogan which is "One Mile Square and All There", which was coined when the incorporated area of the city was only one square mile.

Covina is often confused with West Covina which is actually larger in both area and population so we’ll be careful not to make that mistake.

Packed into that square mile, Covina claims to have the largest movie multiplex in Los Angeles County. Opened in 1997, the Covina AMC 30 located at Arrow Highway and Azusa Avenue is one of the busiest theatres in the United States. The movie theater was built on the site of a former Sears building.

No wonder it’s so massive.

The nice city site covina.com adds more flavor. “Downtown Covina has some of the best dining for miles! From historic eateries and cafes to classy dining perfect for date night, Downtown Covina offers some of the best places to eat and hang out in the San Gabriel Valley!

And after enjoying a great meal, stick around for some live music at the Lincoln House or the Brew & Meatball Company, amazing shows at the Covina Theatre, pool & darts at Rude Dogs Bar & Grill, or trivia at Bread & Barley!”

Sounds like fun. Almost as fun as watching Tatiana perform.

And perform she did.

When you build up an undefeated record, give an outstanding performance on a reality television show, the chance for a big fight with a marque fighter soon becomes a reality.

In September of 2018, sportsjoe.ie reported, “Tatiana Suarez maintained her pristine professional record by finishing Carla Esparza at UFC 228. To say that Suarez dominated Esparza would be an understatement. She ruined the inaugural UFC women's straw weight champion.

The fight lasted 14 minutes and 33 seconds. Throughout the entire fight, Esparza landed a grand total of 0 significant strikes to Suarez's 81.”

It was a statement win at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

She didn’t have anything to prove but if some thought that she did, her complete domination of this fight against a former champion put all doubts to rest.

Soon the excitement and buzz started.

Having earned this big time win, Tatiana is now knocking on the door to clash in a big purse fight with UFC straw weight champion Rose Namajunas.

Her hometown of Covina had their phrasing as previously mentioned and so does Tatiana.

When her opponents try and taunt or bully her, they should be reminded of it and what is that?

We don’t break. We break people.

If anyone didn’t believe Tatiana before, they sure believe now.