'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#4 We could be seeing a future champion on the prelims
While the next top contender at Women’s Strawweight could be decided in the Kowalkiewicz/Andrade fight, UFC 228 also features a fighter in the same division who could well be a future UFC champion. TUF 23 winner Tatiana Suarez faces off with former champion Carla Esparza in the final preliminary fight of the night, and if she can keep her perfect record intact, it’ll be hard to deny her as a genuine title threat.
Suarez – who overcame a bout of thyroid cancer that derailed her hopes as an Olympic wrestler – has simply dominated any opponent who’s stepped in front of her thus far in her MMA career. She won all three of her fights on TUF before submitting Amanda Cooper in the finale, and most recently, she choked out top prospect Alexa Grasso in under three minutes.
Her opponent at UFC 228 is certainly no pushover – Esparza has looked resurgent since a disappointing loss to Randa Markos in early 2017, as she beat Maryna Moroz and Cynthia Calvillo and probably should’ve been awarded a decision over fellow top contender Claudia Gadelha in June. But it’s hard to see where she has an advantage over Suarez, given her reliance on her wrestling and Suarez’s massive strength in that area.
If Suarez can pull this one out then not only will it send the message that she’s for real, but it should also put her probably one fight away from a title shot. If she beats Esparza impressively – particularly with a finish - then it points towards the likelihood of her following fighters like Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping as TUF champions who went on to win UFC titles.
