Undefeated Tatiana Suarez weighs in on former rival Alexa Grasso's chances against Valentina Shevchenko (Exclusive)

Valentina Shevchenko (left), Alexa Grasso (centre), Tatiana Suarez (right)
Valentina Shevchenko (left), Alexa Grasso (centre), Tatiana Suarez (right)

UFC women's strawweight Tatiana Suarez has given her thoughts on her former adversary Alexa Grasso's upcoming flyweight title bout against Valentina Shevchenko.

Suarez is undefeated as a professional (8-0) and has won all five of her UFC bouts. Amongst those five victories are three finishes, which includes a first-round submission win over Grasso. The 32-year-old's last appearance in the UFC came in 2019, and she is now set to end her three-year injury hiatus by returning to the octagon to face Montana De La Rosa at UFC Vegas 70 this weekend.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA's Andrew Whitelaw, Tatiana Suarez discussed her comeback as well as her former foe Grasso now challenging for UFC gold. According to Suarez, Alexa Grasso should have improved her ground game for any chance of victory against Shevchenko:

"She [Alexa Grasso] would have to have improved. Definitely on the ground as Shevchenko likes to get people to the ground with the bodylock, and that bodylock is tight. It will be an interesting fight. She's a really good boxer and presents that problem. I look forward to seeing it and if we meet again, that would be great."

Check out the full exclusive interview here [4:10]:

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Tatiana Suarez wants to face both Zhang Weili and Valentina Shevchenko

Despite struggling with multiple injuries over the last three years, Tatiana Suarez is still considered one of the brightest prospects in women's MMA. The 32-year-old is still yet to taste defeat in her professional career and has been tipped as a future UFC champion.

According to Suarez, however, one UFC belt isn't enough. 'Thabib' is already eyeing up becoming the strawweight champion, defending the belt and then testing herself against the best the women's flyweight division has to offer.

In the same interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the TUF 23 winner stated that her aim is to stay healthy and start challenging herself against the best fighters in the UFC, which includes Zhang Weili and Valentina Shevchenko:

"Do I think I'll fight them both? I hope so. If I do everything I need to do and stay healthy, I should be fighting the best people and I will be able to fight them. It will be an honour to share the cage with them. One of them [Shevchenko] has been a dominant champion for a while and Zhang has been a champion twice. The strawweight division is crazy right now."

Watch the LIVE coverage of UFC Fight Night - Krylov vs Spann on Sony Sports Ten 2, Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi) & Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels on 26th February 2023 from 5:30 am IST

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