Tatiana Suarez earns rare Conor McGregor seal of approval with clinical UFC Nashville submission win over Jessica Andrade
Tatiana Suarez's latest victory has seemingly earned her MMA legend Conor McGregor's seal of approval. Suarez's most recent MMA bout witnessed her face former UFC women's strawweight champion Jessica Andrade. Their highly-anticipated strawweight showdown served as the co-main event for tonight's (August 5, 2023) UFC Nashville event.
American MMA stalwart Suarez put forth a dominant performance against Brazil's Andrade, out-working the dangerous KO artist on the feet as well as on the ground. The fight ended with Suarez securing a submission victory over Andrade courtesy of a guillotine choke in round two.
@TatianaUFC taps out Jessica Andrade! WOW! #UFCNashville pic.twitter.com/JfVg79x78qTATIANA SUAREZ TO THE TOP 5!
💢 @TatianaUFC taps out Jessica Andrade! WOW! #UFCNashville pic.twitter.com/JfVg79x78q
Following that the UFC Europe Twitter account put forth a tweet, suggesting that the win would help cement Tatiana Suarez's place as a top-five fighter in the UFC women's strawweight division. Responding to the tweet regarding Suarez's incredible win at UFC Nashville, Conor McGregor lauded her and appeared to opine that she's a future UFC champion.
In a tweet that he later deleted, former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor wrote:
"This woman is very, very good. UFC Champion material 100%!"
Check out a screenshot of McGregor's now-deleted tweet below:
Conor McGregor hasn't competed since suffering a gruesome leg injury in his fight against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. Nevertheless, the Irishman did serve as a coach on the UFC's TUF reality show opposite Michael Chandler earlier this year. The consensus is that McGregor's comeback fight could see him clash against Chandler. However, that matchup could be delayed till 2024.
What's next for undefeated UFC star Tatiana Suarez?
In February 2023, Tatiana Suarez ended a three-and-a-half-year injury hiatus to return to the octagon. Her comeback fight saw her beat Montana De La Rosa via second-round submission in a flyweight bout. Following that, the 32-year-old Suarez bested Jessica Andrade by second-round submission in their strawweight bout tonight.
In her post-fight octagon interview with UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping at UFC Nashville, Tatiana Suarez indicated that she aims to keep improving. She further referenced the long layoff heading into 2023 and asserted that she has her sights set on becoming a UFC champion.
Besides, Bisping referenced the fact that Tatiana Suarez holds wins over multiple current or former UFC champions such as Carla Esparza, Alexa Grasso, and Jessica Andrade. 'The Count' then harked back to her past comments wherein she claimed that she sees herself capturing UFC titles in two weight classes. Addressing the same, Suarez stated:
"I absolutely believe that I have the tools to be a two-division champion. Tonight, I just wanted to focus on the striking part; get comfortable in the cage because I was off for so long."
Check out Suarez's comments at 1:55 in the video below: