It’s no wonder they’re calling Tatiana Suarez the ‘female Khabib’.
Tatiana Suarez maintained her pristine professional record by finishing Carla Esparza at UFC 228. To say that Suarez dominated Esparza would be an understatement. She ruined the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champion.
The fight lasted 14 minutes and 33 seconds. Throughout the entire fight, Esparza landed a grand total of 0 significant strikes to Suarez’s 81.
You read that correctly. Your eyes didn’t deceive you. The woman who completely dominated current queen Rose Namajunas in 2014 wasn’t able to muster up a single strike of any significance against the wrestling standout. Suarez scored eight takedowns to Esparza’s 0 and spent over 11 minutes in the top position.
It was an absolute annihilation right up until the TKO in the final round. Esparza displayed tremendous heart and never gave up, but she was outclassed.
Complete. Domination. pic.twitter.com/BlgZFzlAlI
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) September 9, 2018
After the fight, cancer survivor Suarez dedicated the performance to everyone who’s struggling with something. She gave a special mention to a friend of hers who had been left in a wheelchair after a car accident. She also sent a message to the current beltholder in the division.
“I just dominated Carla Esparza and she beat Rose (Namajunas). With a dominant performance over Carla, let’s just say Rose better put that in my mailbox.”
Remarkably, one of the judges scored the first round as a 10-8 in favour of Esparza. Not even Esparza’s close friends and family would have given her a 10-9, let alone a 10-8.
Uhhhh… judge Daniel Mathisen clearly was confused during Suarez-Esparza. #UFC228 pic.twitter.com/QwSTXCQVDL
— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) September 9, 2018
The result saw Suarez improve to 7-0 (4-0 UFC). Meanwhile, Esparza falls to 13-6, 4-4 UFC). For the first time ever, ‘The Cookie Monster’ is riding consecutive losses.
