Tatiana Suarez returned from nearly four years away from the Octagon to submit women’s flyweight veteran Montana De La Rosa earlier tonight (Sat., Feb. 25, 2023) at UFC Vegas 70 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Suarez likely had some cobwebs to dust off in her first UFC fight since 2019, but you couldn’t really tell. The women’s strawweight contender was moving up in weight for her return yet still managed to lean on her grappling to subdue the bigger De La Rosa. There were one or two moments when De La Rosa broke free when she wasn’t supposed to, but that’s the name of the game.
All in all, Suarez looked just as dominant in her return and ended up taking advantage of another ground exchange in the second round to secure the guillotine finish.
Check out the final moments above courtesy of UFC/ESPN. Suarez’s post-fight interview can be seen below:
“I’m just really happy that I can show anybody if they’re going through tough times to keep your head up cause it’s gonna work out.”
Tatiana Suarez was filled with emotion after returning almost 4 years later to the Octagon ?? pic.twitter.com/vn5Z5I6BFO
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 26, 2023
Suarez, 32, is now 6-0 as a member of the UFC roster and is once again one of the most dominant female contenders in the sport. The former Ultimate Fighter winner will be heading back down to 115 pounds after tonight, but this win will go a long way for her title aspirations in 2023.
For complete UFC Vegas 70 results and coverage click here.