Tatiana Suarez has a timeline in mind for her return to the octagon.
Suarez, an undefeated strawweight contender and winner of Season 23 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” hasn’t seen action since June 2019 due to a lingering neck injury.
Prior to the layoff, Suarez (8-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) was trending toward a title fight at 115 pounds after beating Nina Ansaroff, former champ Carla Esparza and Alexa Grasso.
UFC president Dana White recently revealed she’s on the comeback trail.
“She hit me up the other day,” White said on an ESPN+ fan Q&A with Laura Sanko. “Her neck is much better. She’s looking to come back soon. She’s scary.”
When contacted about White’s comments, Suarez confirmed her conversation with the UFC’s head honcho. However, she said her neck isn’t yet 100 percent, and it will likely stretch her break between fights into the range of two years before being completely ready.
“Yes, my team and I are thinking summer,” Suarez told MMA Junkie. “At first I thought spring, but I want to make sure my neck will make it through a camp before committing to a fight. I tried to spar and my neck hurt after a few rounds so I cut the session. But, slowly but surely I’m introducing live training back in.”
Suarez, 30, is No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie strawweight rankings, despite the time off between fights.