Tatiana Suarez and Patchy Mix both find themselves in unfamiliar territory — entering a fight coming off of a loss.
One of the sport’s power couples, they are both set to compete in the octagon for the second time this year, with Suarez getting ready to face fellow past strawweight title challenger Amanda Lemos this Saturday at Noche UFC. The fight serves as Suarez’s first appearance since losing a dominant decision to Zhang Weili at UFC 312 in her only championship opportunity to date.
Meanwhile, Mix lost a decision to Mario Bautista in his UFC debut following a long reign as Bellator champ at UFC 316 in June, and he’s now set to face former KSW champ Jakub Wiklacz at UFC 320 in October. With fans taking every chance to throw shade in their direction, Suarez reacted to watching her partner in crime take a lot negativity since the loss.
“Honestly, we could give two shits about what people think,“ Suarez told MMA Fighting. ”But for me, you know, it’s just funny because they didn’t get a real dose of Patchy Mix, and they’re going to on Oct. 4, and I’m super excited for that to happen because then he’ll just shut everybody up and they’re going to see how exciting he truly is, and what an amazing fighter he is. a
“It’s cool because I get to watch him train every day, so I’m just seeing like him pick everybody’s brain and learn more and more every single day, becoming a better martial artist. We’re here in San Antonio, but Pat’s been driving to Austin, to train with the B-Team guys and picking their brains about some jiu-jitsu stuff. He’s always trying to evolve and even though he’s such an amazing grappler, he’s still getting better and improving and still so hungry to get better and become the best version of himself. So it’s it’s cool because on Oct. 4, he’s going to show them, a real Patchy Mix show, and I’m excited to watch. I’ll be there right at the corner.”
Suarez entered the fight with Zhang as a popular choice to leave the event as champion, but that didn’t happen. After a slow start, Zhang took over the final four rounds to retain the title in what turned out to be her last title defense at 115 pounds. Zhang now moves up a division to challenge Valentina Shevchenko for the flyweight belt at UFC 322 in November.
Despite the loss, Suarez was happy for the experience against Zhang as it made her a more complete mixed martial artist. While she’s not surprised Zhang made the move, Suarez is hopeful she’ll get the chance to run it back with the all-time great.
“Overall, I just gained experience out there — just more cage time, more experience, and I’m going to be a better fighter because of it,” Suarez explained. “And now I’m focused on Saturday, and I’m looking forward to getting the victory on Saturday. …
“So, I think this [fight with Lemos is] obviously going to catapult me in the right direction to get in another title shot, and I do want to fight Zhang Weili again. So I’m not sure what’s going to happen if she wins. I think, I’m hoping, well, I’m not going to say I hope she loses, but I do hope to fight her again, you know what I mean? I hope that she eventually comes back down so that I can win the belt and then eventually fight her again.”
At UFC 321, a new strawweight champ will be crowned as No. 1 contender Virna Jandiroba faces Mackenzie Dern in a rematch. Dern scored a unanimous decision victory over Jandiroba in their first encounter back in 2020.
Suarez says she would’ve certainly shifted gears to the vacant title fight, but that’s not the path she’s currently on.
No matter how long it takes, Suarez promises she’ll fight for a world title again.
“I mean, I would have [fought] Virna for the [vacant title], gladly, but I don’t mind that this is happening either,” Suarez explained. I’m going get another win and then get the title, or even if I had to fight two more, I don’t really care. I just want to stay busy and I want to continue my journey on to becoming a champion. That’s all. I don’t really care how many [fights it takes to get back there].“
