"She was just so scared of the wrestling" - Tatiana Suarez "very surprised" by Rose Namajunas' performance in title loss against Carla Esparza at UFC 274
Tatiana Suarez recently shared her take on the UFC 274 fight between Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza.
Namajunas lost a decision against Esparza at the Footprint Center in Arizona in May. 'Cookie Monster' was crowned the new strawweight champion in the process.
However, the fight was one of the most actionless affairs in the history of the UFC. Suarez believes Namajunas respected Esparza's grappling credentials more than necessary. This resulted in the contest playing out the way that it did as she stated on The Schmozone podcast:
"I was very surprised at how little she did. She was just so scared of the wrestling and I honestly don't think that Carla is that much better in that department than Rose. I thought that she could have grappled with her a lot more and it would have been fine. I felt like she could have beaten her in that department."
Watch Tatiana Suarez talk about Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza 2:
The fight between Namajunas and Esparza was a rematch. They previously collided in 2014 with Esparza earning a submission win to become the first ever UFC women's strawweight champion.
Suarez has fought Esparza before and earned a TKO finish in her favor. Hence, she believes 'Thug Rose' could have done better in the grappling aspect of the fight. She also took the example of Namajunas's rematch against Zhang Weili at UFC 268.
'Thug Rose' managed to do well against 'Magnum' in her last fight and earned a decision win. Suarez noted that Weili is as strong as Esparza, if not stronger.
When will Tatiana Suarez fight again?
Suarez was once touted as one of the brightest prospects in the strawweight division of the UFC. She was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 23. The 31-year-old currently boasts an undefeated professional record of 8-0.
She has defeated the likes of Alexa Grasso, Nina Nunes, Carla Esparza, and more over the course of her UFC career. However, Tatiana Suarez has been out of action since his win over Nina Nunes in June 2019.
Suarez revealed last year that she is cleared to return from injury and is contemplating a comeback to the octagon. A date or opponent for her return is yet to be known though.