All language subtitles for The Unbreakable Tatiana Suarez (2024)_track3_[eng]

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What's your name?

Tatiana Suarez.

Come on, Tatiana!

- I believe that
I'm the best in the world.

I believe it
with everything I have,

with every atom in my body.

- She's such
a dominant figure.

Suarez is on another level.

- You haven't seen this kind
of dominance in female MMA

in a long time.

- Tatiana Suarez is one of the
great what-ifs in MMA history.

We all thought, like,
she's gonna be a champion.

- But life has thrown
a lot of shit at her.

Tatiana Suarez, at one point

a U.S. Olympic hopeful
in wrestling.

Those plans were derailed
with a serious injury

which revealed something
much larger than that.

But she's overcome it all.

I've been
through hell and back.

I've overcome a lot.

I'm never gonna stop
till I'm at the top.

This is my passion.

This is what I feel like
I was put here to do.

But I was off
for a very long time.

You just think
to yourself, like,

will I be the same Tatiana?

Will I be the same athlete?

- The former
wrestling prodigy returns

after a nearly
four-year layoff.

Can you try it one more time?

- Try a guillotine with it.
- Yep.

- Everybody saw so much
potential in me, you know.

Now after everything
that I've gone through...

- Fighting out of Rancho
Cucamonga, California...

It's finally my time.

Tatiana Suarez!

- You all right?
- Yeah.

I didn't start MMA

like I want to be
second, third best.

I wanna be the UFC Champion,

and I truly, truly believe that
since I stepped on the mat.

When I'm out there, it's like
we're playing chess or poker,

and I have the best hand.

People call it
mixed martial arts,

and it's, like,
to me it is an art.

It's like a way
to express yourself.

Hey!

Dude.

- I've always been
a competitor.

I've always had the drive
and the ambition

and the work ethic.

I can't explain it.

I've done it
since I was a kid.

♪ ♪

Tatiana was always
very, very active.

Always wanted to be
the center of attraction.

She was always just
a little rebel rouser.

all:
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

♪ Happy birthday ♪

Chris, get your head down!

- Tatiana used to always go
to her brother Chris's

wrestling practices
and was very observant.

We were at a tournament,

and she said,
"I wanna wrestle too."

And I was like,
"Girls don't really wrestle."

And Tatiana's
always been somebody who,

when she wants something,
she's gonna do it.

So she was wrestling boys.

She had little
fluffy socks on.

She had a little
high ponytail, her bangs,

and she'd get out there
and she'd just...

whack!
Put these kids to their backs.

She would get up and smile.

- I just fell in love with
wrestling from a young age.

- We have a saying
in wrestling.

You gotta have a little bit
of dog in you.

Tatiana's a dog.

It's that Mexican blood.

It runs deep.

Come on, Tatiana!

- When I was 12 years old,
I made up my mind

that I was gonna be
an Olympic champion.

Yeah!

- When I got to high school,
I just kept

that same goal in my head.

- She didn't go
to her graduation.

She didn't go to the prom.

Most of the time, if there was
a dance at school,

there was some wrestling
tournament that she was at.

So she gave up a lot of stuff.

- Everything
was about wrestling

and reaching my goal.

- She was wrestling some of
the best boys in California.

And, you know, even though
they were young,

Tatiana's, like, skill levels
were, like, off the charts.

That girl was not
going to lose.

She became kind of the poster
child for women's wrestling,

and she meant a lot
to Northview.

- I was the number one girl
in the nation at the time.

I wasn't even near my prime.

I was just beginning my career
as an athlete.

Wrestling's
an individual sport,

but it takes a lot of support.

And I think Northview,
in general,

all the coaches on the staff

not only molded me
as a wrestler,

but as a person as well.

♪ ♪

I'm very, very fortunate
that I can go back

and help out and still be part
of the Northview family.

- This is one of our own
right here, Tatiana Suarez.

She started here.

She was the first
four-time state champion.

She's kicked a lot of these
boys' butts in this program.

And we're so lucky
and blessed to have

a world team member here
in our gym, man.

Give her another hand, guys.
Give her another hand.

Tatiana Suarez is Northview
royalty on the girls,

and even on the boys side.

She was one of the pioneers,
I would say,

of female wrestling
in California

and around the country.

Wrestle!

I wanna get my elbow
back here, right?

That's the defense, right?

She wrestled in the
boys room, which was tough.

Our boys room is traditionally
a championship program.

I step forward, and then
that gives me enough room.

That gives my body enough room.

- Tatiana Suarez
is pretty much a legend.

It's always really exciting
whenever

she comes to work out with us.

When I first
started wrestling,

there was a Northview camp,
and she came to speak.

And I think that, especially
me just starting to wrestle

and not seeing
very many girls in wrestling,

someone's actually
made a name for themselves,

and that was just kind of
the biggest eye opener

of like, wow, this is really
something that I could do.

- I really try to have
that mentality like Tatiana.

Everything that she has done

I feel like I wanna follow
in her footsteps.

I'm gonna pressure forward.

As soon as she pressures back,
I'm going to throw that by.

Okay?

- Wrestling's not
for everybody.

You have to have
a strong spirit, strong mind,

and you have to be willing

to take disappointment
here and there.

And to see how many kids
have gone through here

and become successful adults
from all kinds of backgrounds,

it's unbelievable.

- Women's wrestling is--
is still fairly new.

All right,
you're going, right?

Let her grab your neck.
Let her grab your neck.

- The culture is
much more accepted now

than it was years ago.

When I started taking Tatiana
to national level tournaments,

there was only,
I think, five colleges

in the United States
that supported girls wrestling,

that had teams.

And it's gotta be close
to 100 now.

- It's one of the
fastest-growing sports

in the United States, so--
which is amazing, man.

So you're gonna go ahead,
you're gonna pressure.

She goes, pressures back,
and I'm here.

I just want to inspire them,

especially being
a Latina myself.

You know, I live in California.
There's a lot of Latinas here.

The entire roster is Latina.

And it feels good
to be able to help them

because a lot of
old-school Mexicans,

they don't think that
women should do a sport.

What I love to do is to show
that you can still be a woman

and be successful
because of wrestling,

'cause of fighting,
and so can their daughters,

and so can
their granddaughters.

- It's the American dream,
you know?

The idea of our parents was
for them and their children

to have better lives
here in this country,

and through hard work
and sport,

they're gonna get
these opportunities

like getting to go to college.

You set a foundation, and you
could just build upon that

for entire generations.

- I came from a culture
where girls sports,

they're not very common.

But my brothers
were in wrestling,

and I was like, wow,
that is really cool.

I really wanna try that.

- My confidence level, I think
it definitely has gone up,

and that's what a lot
of people tell me, too,

like especially, like, my mom
and, like, my teammates.

They're like my second family.

It's definitely the best
feeling knowing that

we're there for each other.

I have my best friends that are
going through the same thing

or have gone through
the same thing.

- I think everyone in the room
always pushes each other.

Everyone goes 100%
in our lives.

Wrestling has given me

basically everything,
I would say.

If I'm wrestling, I let all
my frustration and anger out,

and it brought me out
of my shell a lot.

Vikings on three,
one, two, three.

- all: Vikings!
- We don't break.

- all: We break people!
- Amen.

Yeah.

- We don't break;
we break people.

That's our motto that
no matter what we go through,

we won't break.

When I was 17 years old,

I was the four-time
national champion.

I had a lot of pressure on me

'cause I wanted to be
an Olympic champion.

But I feel like I flourish
when there's pressure on me.

I don't feel like
I run from it.

My entire life, people told me

that I shouldn't wrestle
because I was a girl,

that I shouldn't be there
'cause I was a girl.

It fuels me
when people doubt me.

It makes me feel like
I have to prove them wrong.

♪ ♪

- Tatiana made the world team
when she was 17 years old.

That was kind of, like,
unheard of.

And when I took her
to the U.S. Nationals,

she actually defeated the
defending national champion.

- Wrestling's the first sport.
It's the original sport.

This is the oldest sport
in the Olympics.

Tatiana was a great,
great competitor.

And she was very young,

and she jumped on
to the senior level.

Because she was so competitive,
she just rose very quickly

because she was not
gonna get pushed back down.

- There were no Latinas
on the American team,

so I felt very proud
to be the first Latina

to represent Team USA.

Terry saw just
so much potential in me,

and he put
a lot of time into me.

- I think Tatiana
was really going to be

an Olympic champion.

She's that kind of an athlete.

Some people come in
wanting to win, you know.

Tatiana came in
needing to win, right?

And there's a difference.

Failure wasn't an option.

♪ ♪

So what's up, man?
How's your body feel, man?

I feel good.

Like you feel like
you're ready to go or what?

I started sparring.

Before that, I was just, like,
wrestling and doing jiu jitsu.

'Cause I'm like, I wanna
train hard, obviously,

but then I'm nervous.

You only really need
to train hard two,

maybe three days
out of the week.

You know what I mean?

- But I train hard. Like...
- I know, there's no--

But that's what
I'm telling you,

is that you need
to change it, dude.

You know what I mean?
Like, you got this decade left.

- I had a really good
relationship with my brother.

We were really close
growing up.

The saying is,
is that a wrestler

will go through the wall,
and the jiu jitsu guy

will find the fastest way
to go around the wall.

Instead of going
through the wall,

which you've always done,
you've gotta go

kind of like up the wall,
but, like, sideways.

Yeah.

I grew up
in a single-parent home.

My dad left
when I was seven years old.

He was supposed to pick
me up from my birthday.

We were going to Disneyland.

And he just never came.

I remember driving in the car
with her and the radio was on,

and some Hispanic music
would come on, and she'd say,

"Change it. Change it.
Turn it off."

And she'd get tears in her eyes

because it would remind her
of her dad.

My mom
had to pick up the slack.

And my brother
being there helped a lot

just because I didn't
have a father figure around.

- I kind of helped
raise Tatiana.

Changed diapers, fed her.

She was my little buddy.

- He was not old enough
to be my dad,

but he was old enough
to look out for me.

All right, one crispy burger
coming up.

I just wanted to be
that person for her

that her dad never was.

That's when Tatiana
and I was like--

How come you're not eating?

I'm not hungry.

- Maybe the reason why
is because growing up,

I never had anybody else
looking out for me.

And I was always
the one looking out

for everybody else.

- When you're a single mom,
that can be very hard.

I got pregnant
when I was 15 with Chris.

My mom basically
wanted me to have an abortion

'cause she thought
that would be the best thing.

And in my heart, that wasn't
something that I wanted to do.

I bought a mobile home
in El Monte

when Chris was five.

And then I had Tatiana
shortly after.

But there was just a lot
of uncertainty at home.

We didn't have
a very stable household

when we were younger.

I wanted to be
a pediatrician.

I had good grades and...

did well in school.

I was valedictorian
of my junior high.

I'm sorry, guys.

- I dropped it.
- God, Daddy can't you--

- My stepdad was abusive
towards my mom physically.

He was abusive
towards her verbally.

There was a couple times
when he would hit me

or, like, do things to me.

- He would just say that
he was gonna get his gun

and kill her.

He would do that often.
It wasn't even just once.

But because of this abuse,

she didn't do well
at expressing--

I don't know if it was anger
or frustration

or whatever it may be.

- Lisa's reactions
when they were wrestling

a lot of times were too much.

It meant too much to her
that they did well.

Again! Again!

Make him cry!

- Winning was a priority
to my mom.

There was no option.

It was hard. It was hard.

Shit, like,
you better fucking win,

or I'm gonna fucking this,

almost like the fear of God
in you.

- I remember one time,
I had lost at this tournament.

My brother was like, oh,
I'll go with you guys.

And I was like,
wow, my mom's, like--

like, she's really dealing
with me losing pretty well.

Like, usually she's, like,
really upset, you know?

I knew she was
treating me differently

because my brother was there.

And then, finally,
we went to my grandma's house

and we dropped my brother off.

I remember feeling, like,
my heart sink

'cause I knew that, like--

I knew it was coming, you know,

like, I knew
she was gonna be mad.

So he got out the car,
and immediately,

uh, she hit me.

Growing up, I was very
resentful towards my mother.

I always wanted to prove her
wrong and also make her happy.

And like, I just felt
like I could never

live up to her standards.

It was hard, you know,
because you only want love

and stuff from your parent.

I just tried
to be the protector.

I wanted her to be safe.

I tried my best.

I don't know if my best
was good enough.

Chris Lopez.

- As I got older and I went
away to college,

I grew up
and she was still little.

I remember a tough conversation
we had on the phone

when I was in college.

And she called, and she was
crying because I was gone.

And she asked why I left her.

She goes,
"Why did you leave me?"

I felt responsible.

I'll always remember her voice

and her crying
when she said that.

Turn, babe, turn!

Turn, babe!

I loved wrestling so much.

It was a great escape for me.

All the energy that I had
was put into wrestling

and being successful at that.

Tatiana Suarez.

Whoo!

- And I think that
helped me get through

a lot of the pain that I felt.

You know, it's like everybody,
throughout their life,

they find things
to help them cope,

and mine was wrestling.

I guess that's how
all of this started for me.

- It's pretty often that
people find wrestling

as a sport
prepares you for life.

It prepares you for all
these ups and downs,

all these wins and losses,

and it's just about
how you face them

and how you look at them.

I struggled a lot
with my mental health

all throughout high school.

I was dealing
with anxiety and depression.

I didn't realize
how bad things were

until about when
COVID started to hit,

all the feelings
of just being alone.

Everyone can have
a different story, but for me,

wrestling definitely helped
my mental health.

It was a reason
to get out of bed.

Wrestling definitely
brought me up

out of that hole that
I put myself in

and that hole that
was created for me.

And I was able to just
keep going forward.

- If I were to talk
to my younger self,

I just would say that
you're destined for greatness.

And things are gonna be hard,

but you're always
gonna figure out a way.

When I was
representing Team USA,

they wanted me
to live at the OTC.

I was glad to go live there.

Once I left,
I was happy to be gone.

My mom, we didn't really
have, like, a relationship.

We barely even spoke.

I didn't really come back
for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

But I really enjoyed
living at the OTC

just because all you do is,

you eat, sleep,
and breathe wrestling.

And that's who I am.

Here we go, second round
at the World Championships.

- I started wrestling
internationally,

and I was doing so well.

I won a World bronze medal
at 17 years old.

So in my mind, I was going
to be an Olympic champion.

I just needed to mature
as an athlete,

and it was just
a matter of time.

We had the French Open.

I noticed that
my neck was hurting.

I felt, like, a tingling
down my face, my arm.

During the warm-up, I remember
thinking to myself,

man, like,
how am I supposed to

make it
through this tournament?

But I ended up just,
like, destroying her.

And I remember being so proud
just because I had made

that mental switch
from negative to positive

in matters of, you know,
minutes.

And I ended up winning
the French Open.

And then we flew back.

We noticed that
she's always, like, twitching,

and she's always, like,

raising her shoulder
and like this.

And--and I was like,
we gotta get this checked out.

Something's going on.

I was at practice,
and I shot in,

and I, like, couldn't move,
you know, for like,

I don't know how long it was.

It couldn't have been
longer than a few seconds.

But I could not move,
and I just remember, like,

feeling like
it felt like forever.

- Her neck locked up,
and she let out a scream.

And it scared her,
I think, to the core.

Like, you know, nobody wants
to be paralyzed, right?

They ended up calling
the ambulance,

and I just thought they would
be like, yeah, you're fine.

You know, like, we gotta do
this, maybe we gotta do that,

and you can go out
and wrestle again.

But my spine was deviated.

- A neck injury is--it's just
debilitating for a fighter.

From a simple subconscious
level of wondering,

oh, my gosh,
is this that last millimeter?

Is this that final one
that puts me in a wheelchair

the rest of my life?

- They told me, "You shouldn't
wrestle anymore.

We really think that
you could become paralyzed."

She went home after that,

and she never did come back
to the sport.

But the neck injury
actually saved her life.

- I had to see a specialist
for my neck,

and because of the diagnosis,
there was images,

and they saw a mass
on my thyroid.

And I got my biopsy done
and stuff,

and it ended up
being cancerous.

- When you hear "cancer,"
it's scary, man.

I was devastated.

I was scared for her.

She kept a lot of stuff
to herself,

but you could tell
by the way she was acting

and the way she was that--

that it was hard for her
to deal with.

She kind of went
into the dark.

Literally like
the lights turned off.

It's gone.

- I didn't want them
to be worried,

so I dealt with it on my own.

♪ ♪

I definitely experienced
a lot of depression.

I felt, you know,
like, helpless, alone.

At times I contemplated
suicide, you know?

It was hard for me
because I had to fight

a disease that could kill me.

But then I felt like
I didn't want to be there

because I didn't
have wrestling.

I ended up having to get
my thyroid taken out.

But it also spread
to, like, my lymph nodes

and towards my lungs
and stuff,

so they had to take out some
of my lymph nodes as well.

The primary job
of the thyroid

is to regulate your metabolism.

So you can imagine
having this piece

that runs
how much energy you have,

when to recover, when to relax,
how many calories you burn,

your weight mass,
just being gone.

It's really difficult
for a normal human being

to get through a day
without a thyroid,

let alone
a professional athlete,

let alone
a professional fighter.

♪ ♪

- After my neck injury
and the cancer,

I had to go back
to California.

I was so emotionally
and mentally messed up,

I actually took
losing wrestling tougher

than I did finding out
that I had cancer.

It was so hard for me
because the escape

that I usually have,
I couldn't do.

I was so depressed,
and I went through a time

where I'm just like, I don't
know what I'm gonna do.

I don't know who I am.

But the one thing I could say
that I learned from wrestling

is, like,
when things get tough, like,

you just gotta keep pushing.

♪ ♪

I changed for the better
within that time.

I think I had put a lot
of my value into wrestling,

and it forced me to figure out
who I was as a person

outside of wrestling.

I would just say
it was a gift.

Because, yeah,
it was hard at the time,

but then I was able to fight
cancer and get it treated.

At the same time, I, like,
knew that I wasn't done,

or, like, I'm gonna find
a way to fight again.

She's not a regular person.

Not that regular people
are bad,

but that's not who she is.

She's a competitor.
She's a fighter.

She's just someone
who loves to compete.

That's all she knows.

I just tried to be the person

that was there for her
all the time.

I just wanted her
to know that, like,

no matter what,
I'm here for you.

You could work at PetSmart
for the rest of your life.

I don't care.

Like, I'm gonna
love you the same.

But I knew that's not
what she wanted.

I was trying to figure out
what I would want to do next

that I could do that wouldn't
be so tough on my neck.

She started doing jiu jitsu.

And I was like,
is that, like, really smart?

Isn't that the same
as wrestling?

And she was like, no,
it's not as hard on your neck.

- The fear
of being paralyzed--

I guess what I feel inside,
my need to be the best,

outweighs those fears.

When you feel like he's
in decent position, step, step.

Top.

My first exposure to her

was when she walked
in the gym,

and she was just
doing jiu jitsu.

And I just remembered
watching her roll,

and she just did things
so naturally, you know?

She just found places to be,
how to set her weight,

where to apply pressure.

- You could see him,
like, watching me.

He was like,
"Have you done this before?"

And I was like,
"No, I just--I wrestled."

And he's like, "I can tell."

- She was tapping a lot
of guys out in the gym,

and I had found out probably,
like, a few days later,

like, what caliber
of a wrestler she was.

- Jiu jitsu class
was in an MMA gym.

So I was surrounded by MMA,

like, the striking aspect
and everything.

And I was like, well,
I might as well do that too.

MMA stands for
mixed martial arts,

which essentially takes
elements from jiu jitsu,

boxing, wrestling--

every form of martial art
under the sun

gets blended into one sport,

and you see who
the most dominant person is.

Tatiana Suarez,
her base is wrestling.

Some of the best wrestlers
have found

tremendous success in MMA.

And I have long
believed that wrestling

is the best base,
the best foundation to have

if you're an MMA fighter.

- Right away, she kind of
stood out in the room,

and we have mostly
male students at our gym,

so a lot of these guys were
coming up to me afterwards,

like, asking me who she was.

- Tati started training
with me 2012, 2013,

and then actively competing
in MMA.

2014 was her first fight.

There you go, Tatiana.

Keep throwing those knees!

Tatiana Suarez!

- As soon as she got healthy,
she went back to her calling,

which was to be competing.

And I knew that, you know,
once she started doing that,

that, you know, good luck to--
to those other women out there

because she's--
she's one to deal with.

- I had only been fighting
in the cage six months,

and I had heard
that they were having

the strawweight
"Ultimate Fighter."

I wanted to go on that.

- 32 fighters
with one common goal:

to survive the most
intense competition in MMA.

"The Ultimate Fighter,"
they bring in 16 fighters

to live in a house.

And it would basically
be a tournament.

We go out and find the
absolute best in the world

in each weight class.

And we get two of the
best fighters in the world

to be the head coaches.

- As a coach
in "The Ultimate Fighter,"

I had to pick a team.

I had to pick a few people

that were gonna fight
under my name.

You know,
and I'm very competitive.

And the winner would win

a six-figure contract
to the UFC.

- At the time
I only had three fights,

so "The Ultimate Fighter"
gave me an opportunity

to get some more fights,
some more cage time.

There was, like,
no doubt in my mind

that I was gonna make it,
I was gonna win the show.

When you go to the tryouts,
all they have do

is roll
for, like, two minutes.

Then I went and did,
like, some striking.

I smashed a girl.

After a few weeks,
they called me.

They're like, "Hey,
you made it on the show."

I had started working at Petco
'cause it was something

that I could do part time
while I was training MMA.

And so then I told my boss.

I'm like, "Yeah, I'm leaving."
She's like, "What?"

And then I was like, "I made it
on to the tough show."

And she was like,
"All right, well,

I'll see you
in a couple of months."

You know?
I told her I was gonna go.

And I'm like,
"Yeah, I'm not coming back."

And I just left.

- When I first looked
at Tatiana, I was like,

this girl, she has
something special, you know.

And when I saw
Tatiana fighting,

I was like, holy shit.

This girl is serious.

Pick your first fighter.

Tatiana.

Tatiana was very focused.

She knew what she wanted,

and I loved that about her,
you know?

Like, you can't teach heart,

and Tatiana is, like,
the perfect example of that.

She's been through
a lot of struggles in life

that, you know,
brought her where she is.

- Tatiana wasn't the type
of person that came in

and she doesn't
play the victim.

She just comes in
and does her work.

Man, she comes in and wins.

- I made it to
"The Ultimate Fighter" finale.

- The strawweight final
will be Tatiana versus Amanda.

- They have, like, promo,
'cause this is a finale.

And I'm in the back,

and I hear the girl
talking about me,

and she's like, "Yeah,
Tatiana is not used to being,

"you know, the nail.

So I'm gonna be the hammer,
and I'm gonna break her."

I was so calm,
and then all of a sudden,

I hear her,
and she's saying this.

And I was like, I turn up
to like level crazy.

No one's gonna break me.

I wasn't even nervous,
'cause I felt so much anger

that someone thought
that they could break me.

- Here is the undefeated
Tatiana Suarez.

- And she is
a lifelong wrestler

with excellent
chain wrestling skills

and diversity in
her takedown attempts,

but also has
really good diversity

in her submissions as well.

- I took her down,
and I'm just, like,

throwing bombs,
like, recklessly.

All of a sudden,
I'm, like, in an armbar.

- Armbar attempt here
from Cooper.

- I'm, like,
there's no way I'm tapping.

She's gonna have
to break my arm.

I will still beat her
with one arm.

And I'm gonna be
the Ultimate Fighter.

I didn't even care
at that point.

- Nice job defensively
by Suarez.

I finally got my arm out.

Nice hammer fist by Suarez.

- D'arce attempt here,
could convert to a jack

and Japanese necktie
if she can hook

that right leg around the leg.

I hit my D'arce,

and it was, like, so tight
that she's tapping,

but the ref couldn't see it.

I literally told him,
I was like, "She's tapping."

And then all of the sudden,
you see her legs flailing

because she thinks
she's gonna go out

and she, like, panics.

He, like, taps me, like stop.

- Tatiana Suarez is
the Ultimate Fighter!

- Tatiana Suarez
caps an amazing run

on "The Ultimate Fighter."

It was like a validation.

Finally, the world gets to see
what I saw and what I know.

- "The Ultimate Fighter,"
season 23 strawweight winner,

Tatiana Suarez!

- Me winning just gave
everybody a lot of hope.

They had seen me go through
so much at that point,

my family and Northview
and everybody.

They saw me,
you know, lose something,

but then I was able
to get something even better.

I've been through hell
and back.

I've overcome cancer.

And I'm from a place
that says, "We don't break.

We break people."

And I will never break.

I've overcome a lot,
and I'm never gonna stop

until I'm at the top.

When, you know, she said,
"Where I come from," um...

"Where I come from, you know,
we don't break."

It's just kind of full circle
that you know, um,

that you train somebody,
and you--and you made them

believe in themselves,
and it makes you very proud.

- I saw my mom backstage,
and she was crying,

and she was just like,
"I'm so proud of you."

I just remember, like,
hugging her and realizing

that, like, if she hadn't
sacrificed so much for me,

I wouldn't be where I was.

♪ ♪

Hi!

- Maria?
- Huh?

- You wanna do the drills?
- Yeah.

Okay.

I think every time
I go out there,

there's, like, a level
that you need to know

that you can endure.

So I do that, like,
every day during practice

in order to feel confident
out in the cage.

I enjoy, like, that feeling
where I push myself so hard.

I almost enjoy the feeling
of, like,

breaking someone
during practice.

- Her wrestling and her
grappling is not good,

it's not great; it's elite.

And that's what sets her out
from everybody else.

And her striking's legit too.

- Tatiana, she's a nasty
wrestler, heavy top pressure.

Her hands and striking
just has been looking good.

- I'm 15 pounds heavier
than her,

and I've wrestled
my entire life,

and I have to go as hard as
I can to keep her off my legs

or to not get taken down
or not get choked out by her.

Pummel, pummel!

Give a little resistance now,
final movement.

About 50%, fight a little bit.

- I'm excited to fight
somebody in a cage again.

I love that it's competition,

but then there's also
violence behind it.

It's a violent art.

I could do it against
the cage, no problem.

But in the middle,
it's closing the distance

and then being safe
when you grab.

You know what I mean?
Not just, like, grabbing.

Yeah.

And then whenever you're gonna
have grappling rounds after.

I grapple all my rounds,
so I don't even know.

Yeah.

Not against her,
but I don't think...

It's a huge part of my life
to help other females

feel like they can do
a male-dominated sport.

For me,
that's part of my legacy.

- I think one
of the challenges

that comes with wrestling is,

I just didn't
feel like a girl.

It was like, wow,
I'm wrestling all these guys.

I'm also being doubted
'cause I'm a girl, and...

I just was like, yeah, I guess
I'm one of the few ones

that actually wants to do it.

But it makes me feel special.

- Most people are scared
once they find out, like,

oh, she's a girl wrestler.

Like, don't mess with her.

We look a lot more mean
than everyone else.

So I think that's, like,
what separates us.

- I never wanted to stand out,
and I feel like wrestling has

taken me out of that shell.

I feel like I can actually
express myself, wear makeup,

do my hair, do whatever I can
to look the best

'cause I feel confident
in myself.

♪ ♪

- I don't associate fighting
with being masculine.

I love being a strong female.

I think being strong
is a feminine thing.

I feel like I represent women.

I represent my community.

I represent Latinos.

And that's why, you know, I try
to not only be a great fighter

but a great person.

For me, like, along the way,

the journey makes you
a better person if,

you know, you use the obstacles
to make you better.

After winning
"The Ultimate Fighter,"

I ended up fighting
Viviane Pereira,

beating her
by unanimous decision.

Then I had a fight
with Alexa Grasso,

and I ended up getting
a rear naked choke.

- An impressive showing
for Tatiana Suarez.

- After that,
I fought Carla Esparza,

and I won by TKO
in the third round.

- Tatiana Suarez!
- Holy cow.

After I beat Carla,
a lot of people

referred to me
as the champ already.

So in my mind, I was just
on my way to the title.

And then they asked me
to fight Nina Ansaroff

for the number one
title contender fight.

- So here she is,
folks, the woman who

is all the rage at present.

The number-two ranked
strawweight contender,

the undefeated Tatiana Suarez.

- A couple of weeks prior,
I ended up

injuring my neck at practice.

I didn't really know,
you know, the extent,

but then I ended up
fighting with it.

Suarez is in blue,

Nina Ansaroff
is in the all gray.

- One of our first exchanges,
I just felt, like,

a lot of shooting
down my arm and stuff.

And she got her down.

- There is levels
to this game.

- I think the mental thing
is one of the biggest things

that I had to overcome
during the fight,

just because you fear, like,
paralysis and stuff like that.

Your mind should
not be on paralysis

when you're in a cage fight.

- Declared the winner
by unanimous decision,

Tatiana Suarez!

- I remember
after her fight in 2019,

we all thought, like,
2020 she's a champion.

Like, it's a done deal.

You know,
it's a long time coming,

and I just wanna see
that belt around my waist.

After the fight, it definitely
felt a lot worse.

But it dawned on me
that I probably needed

some significant time off.

I ended up linking up
with Andy Gilpin,

and then we came up
with a game plan

of how to recover
from my neck injury

'cause I knew that I couldn't--

I wouldn't be able
to do that on my own.

- We were probably
thinking six, seven months,

and that would have been
four years ago.

Her neck injury
was really difficult,

and it still is
a big challenge

because it impacted
everything.

The things we asked
Tatiana to do,

I don't know many athletes
who could have endured it.

Imagine you had to spend
3 1/2 hours

stretching your neck,
seven days a week,

multiple times a day.

I think it runs through
your mind sometimes.

I'm like, oh, what if
it doesn't get better?

So I took it
one day at a time.

You don't wanna spend the rest
of your life saying what if.

I wanna be like,
I pursued that.

Maybe I failed
or I came up short,

but I pursued it.

- It took a year and a half,
maybe two years,

but we were finally there.

We went through
a test training camp,

and things went perfect.

And I was like, holy crap,
you just made it

through basically
a training camp.

Let's get a fight.

I had a fight lined up.

Camp was going well.

I wanted to wrestle.

So I ended up going live
with this guy,

and I took him down.

And I know that
it probably bothered him

that I took him down.

So then he, like, shoots on me

and then pushes me
against the wall.

When you're in a cage,
you have, like,

more room to work 'cause,
like, the cage kind of moves.

So when you put a wall
that doesn't move,

it's a different story.

He puts my legs together,
and then he literally

just, like,
tries to pull me down.

And then I hear, like,
the loudest pop imaginable.

It sounded like a baseball bat,
like, hit something.

♪ ♪

My knee just, like,
was completely,

like, the wrong way and stuff,
so my actual joint dislocated.

They're, like, trying
to, like, calm me down,

and I'm, like, screaming,

and my knee is like,
the opposite way,

so then, like, I, like,
flexed my quad,

and then it pops back
into place.

I was laying there,
and I just--

like, it was really hard,
because I came back from--

from something, like,
really rough,

you know, like, mentally.

Physically, like,
I put in the work

to, like, get to that point.

So, like, it was really--
it was hard.

I don't think I've ever thought
about giving up on anything.

But I really felt it
at that point.

♪ ♪

After I got injured,
I had the MRI done,

and then they called me,
and they were like,

"Your knee is really bad.

It's one of the worst injuries
I've seen."

He's like, it looks like you
were in a motorcycle accident.

She didn't hurt her knee.

She basically
tore it off her leg.

It was heartbreaking enough
for her to have tweaked a knee

and been out
another four months.

This was different.

- That was the lowest
I've felt.

Every day was a struggle,
how much pain I was in.

And when I say pain,
I mean, like,

more emotionally and mentally.

I laid in bed for like a week,
and I cried.

But then I was like,
all right,

let's come up with something.

- She's very fortunate in the
fact that she's in the UFC,

so she gets great access

to the UFC's
Performance Institute,

and that is
tremendously helpful,

especially during
this knee injury process.

Within hours, she was
on the phone with a handful

of the best physical
therapists in the world.

We had her on the phone with
surgeons across the country,

surgeons you can't get into,

that aren't
taking people in anymore.

- When an athlete undergoes
that much trauma in a joint,

we know it's gonna be
a surgical candidate.

We also know that's gonna be
a long journey back.

I first met Tatiana working
for Team USA Olympic team.

So I've worked
with Tatiana since 2011.

Because I've seen her
through ups and downs,

I kind of know
Tatiana's injuries.

I have also learned
what actually fixes them.

Knowing Tatiana, knowing
her drive, her willpower,

there's never gonna be
an injury

that puts this girl down.

She has bigger goals,
bigger lifetime dreams

of rising to the top
and being on top.

- I ended up getting
surgery here in Las Vegas.

Then maybe two days after,
I started physical therapy.

The comeback doesn't start
after you're already healthy.

The comeback starts
when you're still injured

and you have to get surgery
and prior to surgery.

Like, that's how I saw it.

My comeback started
the minute I decided

that I was gonna
still fight again.

♪ ♪

- Tatiana Suarez is one of the
strongest people I've seen.

I had to go through
a leg injury as well,

and if she could deal with all
that, I can definitely do it.

And it's very inspiring
seeing Tatiana persevere

through some
of the same things

I had to go through.

It helped me a lot.

- I feel like she really
is an inspiration

how she goes through
the challenges

and adversity that she faces.

Whenever I wrestle,
I really try to be like her.

I really try to remember that

she has that mentality
where it's like,

you're not taking me down.

- When I was struggling
with my mental health,

I was practicing a lot
with Tatiana.

She just set an example.

Well, she's doing it.
I could do it too.

It just kind of gave me
that motivation.

I don't know if
I would consider myself

falling into her footsteps
or carrying her legacy.

I think that's definitely
a really hard thing to do.

But I think
it's a feeling that

kind of all of us
in the room are chasing.

- If you look at the sport
and look at these athletes,

they're all people that
other people aspire to be.

These women show girls
what is possible.

When you look
at what's gonna happen

over the next 15 to 20 years
with young girls,

watching these women
do what they do,

you're gonna have a completely
different breed of women.

It's all about little girls
seeing what's possible.

- We haven't seen her
since June of 2019.

It's a real travesty
to be in your prime

and not fight
for three-plus years,

and to be as good as she is,
and to probably

be champion right now,
and who knows what

that would have done
for her life and her family

and her bank account
and all that stuff.

It's a tough pill to swallow.

- When you take three years
off in a combat sport

and try to come back,
it's hard.

It's very hard.

And now she's gotta overcome
ring rust, three years off.

You break your neck.

You get thyroid cancer.

Then you blow
your entire knee out.

At what point do you
just say, you know what?

Maybe this isn't for me,

and I need to go
in another direction.

But she's worked her
whole life to get here.

Life has thrown
a lot of shit at her.

And she's overcome it all.

You almost caught him
in a guillotine too.

Yeah, I know.

- He didn't wanna give it up.
- No.

He was looking over here
when you were choking him.

I think he's
a little embarrassed.

- Today, I'm going to text
Mick Maynard,

the matchmaker of the UFC,
to ask for a fight.

At this point, I feel
mentally ready for it.

I've been training
for a while now.

I feel strong.

And so now it's just a matter
of getting a fight and a date.

At this point,
I just want to fight anybody.

I don't really care who it is.

Oh, he texted back, guys.

He said, "You got it.
Good news."

And then he said,
"115, question mark?"

We're not doing 115
this fight, guys.

We're doing 125.

Your girl put on some muscle.

I mean, I train either way,

but I'm excited for him to be
working on a match-up for me

so that I can
finally get out there

and perform and compete,

'cause competing's
what I love most.

It's been a long time
since I've had a fight,

and I'm just excited
to go out there

and finally show what I can do.

So hopefully,
this is the start of it.

So I'm excited for that.

What's up, everyone?

James Lynch here,
doing a quick reaction video

to the news
that Tatiana Suarez

finally has her next fight
booked after a long layoff.

She's gonna be taking on
Montana De La Rosa.

- Montana's tough.
She comes forward.

She throws big, heavy shots.

She's got some
wrestling background,

so I'm sure she's gonna be
working on defending

takedowns and stuff like that.

Stop! Stop!

- Under the chin,
there's the tap.

She's a top tier fighter.

And then the one thing that
Montana has an advantage

over Tatiana is the fact
that we're fighting

at a heavier weight class.

- It's just great to see
Tatiana Suarez back in action.

It's been a while.

If she's healthy, she's gonna
make a lot of noise

in that division in 2023.

I'm really excited for that,
so...

I'm a little nervous,
actually.

I just need to get cleared
today so I can fight.

Am I doing the X-ray?

Yeah.

Now, I don't know
if you've gotten X-rays--

can you put your hair up in,
like, a high bun?

Raise your chin up for me,
a little higher.

♪ ♪

- You're scheduled
to fight on what date?

The 25th.

- You've been in camp, like,
the last six weeks at least?

- Yeah.
- Okay. All right.

So right now as your
competition is approaching,

you're not having
any neck pain?

No.

You're not having any
symptoms that extend

- into your arms or hands?
- Mm-mm.

- And you have been grappling?
- Right.

- You have been boxing.
- Right.

- And you're wrestling.
- Yeah.

Okay, and--and all this
is working out fine so far?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

So what I'm gonna do
is look at,

just to give you a heads-up,
look at your neck,

feel it, to have you
move your head around.

I'm gonna check your
reflexes, sensation.

If I touch the middle
of your neck in here...

Mm-mm.

Without turning your body,
just your chin all the way

- to the right, any issue?
- No.

All the way to the left?

And then the next thing
is to tilt.

- Any issue?
- Mm-mm.

And tilting, any issue?

- No.
- Okay.

So when we took X-rays
of your neck

with you sort of flexing
or going forward,

the importance of that
is that your spine is stable.

Yeah.

The bones stayed in line.

- They just move together.
- Yeah.

What you do have is,
you have bone spurs.

But what does this mean,
basically?

Basically, it means that
you have a lot of wear

- and tear in your neck.
- Yeah.

And so far you've been
stressing it over the last six

to eight weeks of training
and you have no symptoms.

So from your clinical history,
meaning you telling me

and I examining you, you know,

you would be cleared
to compete.

That's the conclusion
that we have at this time.

- I'm gonna do
a Skype interview at 2:00.

Oh, and I get to try on
my fight kit.

I mean,
I really like fight week.

I'm excited to, like,
sign the posters and stuff.

♪ ♪

- Can I sign anywhere?
- Except for the face.

Okay, perfect.

Really after,
you know, just doing it,

you're gonna help me
get to all the places--

I am, yep.

I need to do my meeting,
like, right now.

- We're so happy that
you're back in the mix here.

I've been itching
to get back.

I just love to compete.

Dude, I have a big hand.

I love the feeling of, like,
knowing that I'm gonna get

in the cage with somebody.

Like, simple combos.

Just like you're doing
is perfect.

All right.

I'm here.

What a wonderful sight.
Welcome back.

I know that
I'm the best in the world

and I just wanna go
and prove it,

but I couldn't 'cause I was
sidelined by injuries.

What are we doing?

- Regular stuff.
- Okay.

- So fight kit.
- Thank you.

Now what is it?

Now we're gonna hop
on the big stage.

- I'm mentally
prepared for anything.

Wrestling taught me that.

You know, I've been wrestling
since I was three years old.

Do you care if we go
into the other room

so that I could do
the interview too?

- Happy to be joined
by Tatiana Suarez.

Over the years you've had
a variety of injuries.

Like, what goes through your
head when something like that

happens to you again?

It was really hard,
but I was like,

this isn't gonna deter me
from doing what I love.

- Thank you so much
for doing this, Tatiana.

Thank you.
I appreciate it.

Thank you for having me on,
and sorry for being late.

♪ ♪

Feels good. I'm excited.

Mentally, I feel good,

and that's the biggest,
I think, obstacle sometimes

is, like,
being mentally prepared

to fight somebody
in a steel cage.

You know what I mean? So.

I'm jumping
for guillotines and stuff,

so once I start doing that,
I don't know.

I'm, like,
I definitely am ready

when I start doing stuff
like that.

♪ ♪

How do you--how do you
wanna do it, Tatiana?

How--do you wanna
save a little bit?

I always tell people you have
two fights on fight week.

You have your weight cut,

and then you have
the actual fight.

And for some athletes,
the weight cut

is more nerve-racking
than the actual fight.

I'm gonna get to 127.

- This is, like,
part of the fight

you don't look forward to.

No one looks forward
to sweating,

wearing the plastics.

You know, just really
kind of cooking your body

and dehydrating
your body like this.

You're--you're dripping.

And that's all.
We gotta keep the drips.

Whatever you gotta do
to keep it going,

but you don't have to work--

Shadowbox for 30 seconds,
and just walk.

Just walk around the room.

You don't have to do
anything crazy.

Yeah, just keep it going,
walking...

♪ ♪

Can we get you up for--
for like 5, 10 minutes,

and then let's check
your weight.

I wanna roll.

Do you want a roll?

- I wanna go--
- Yeah, we'll check it later.

Now I wanna just chill,
so maybe wrap me or something.

So you're trying
to do a little break?

Yeah.

♪ ♪

45 minutes?

Almost 45 minutes,
43, 44 minutes.

Okay.

- 5 minutes.
- 24 minutes.

We can layer you down
a little bit too.

Six, seven?

Seven?

♪ ♪

Ooh, man.
Look at that.

You're laying
in a puddle of water.

Like, five.

Activity completed.

Nice.

I forgot how terrible it is.

♪ ♪

Next to the scale,
Tatiana Suarez.

125.

Official weight 125 pounds
for Tatiana Suarez.

There's a lot of people that,
after they weigh in,

they tend to eat a lot.

I don't eat a lot.

I always wanna stay, like,
somewhat hungry,

because I feel like
it makes me

more primal when I go
into a fight.

Up next, we're in the
women's flyweight division,

Montana De La Rosa
takes on Tatiana Suarez.

- Tatiana,
let me just tell you,

it is an honor
to say welcome back.

How did you stay dedicated
and motivated to your future

and not crumble
under all these things that

have been on your shoulders?

For me, my mom raised me
to be really strong.

And when things don't,
you know, go your way,

you gotta just pick yourself up
and figure it out.

- Clear.
- Oh, my God.

Give me a hug.
We have missed you.

- Thank you, guys.
- See you guys later.

- Bye. See you.
- Bye-bye now.

♪ ♪

- Hey!
- Hi, Mom.

Hi, baby.

How was the trip?

It was raining
and snowing a little bit.

That pass, the 15,
gets really foggy sometimes.

And it's very scary.

'Cause one time
I did the drive,

you could not see
in front of you at all.

Weight cut was easy?

You look good.

I didn't look drained
at the weigh-in, did I?

- Did you see my weigh-in?
- I didn't see the weigh-in.

125.

- Yay.
- 125 pounds.

I'm just kidding.

My relationship
with my mom now is good.

It's easier for me
to understand

a lot of the things
and the reasons

why she did the things she did.

When you're a kid, you don't
know how hard life is.

I love her because I know that

she only wanted
the best for me.

You know,
and she sacrificed a lot,

and she was in pain
while doing it.

And she probably felt alone
while doing it.

So I'm grateful for it.

- Having the kids
at my young age

and wanting them
to be successful

because I wanted to prove
a point that my kids

could be successful too.

But I didn't have the skills
I needed to be a parent.

When you're young,
you take direction

from the people that you know.

- I think her trying
to push me was so that

I wouldn't make
the same mistakes

and so that I could
have a better life

than what she thought she had.

I remember she told me,
like, at one point,

she was digging in her car
and trying to get some change

just so that she could get gas
to take me to practice.

You know, this is
how much dedication

she was putting into providing
a better life for me.

I always feel nervous
when she's gonna fight.

I always feel nervous--
not that I feel

like she's not gonna win.

It's just, like,
a mom thing, I guess.

Even just little hurts,

like when she cut her eye,

or just little things,
you know, it bothers me.

She's my daughter.

But so I get nervous
that I can't protect her.

I always stand up for myself.

Right?

I think all my kids
are pretty good at that.

Yeah. Yeah.

I forgave my mom for--
for all of it

just because I know
how much my mom loves me.

You know, I can see it.
I can feel it.

And I know that she, like,

wishes she could
do it all over again, but...

I think she did a great job
with, uh...

With what she had.

- Stepping into a cage
with another athlete

who's been training
for six to eight weeks

studying you to fight you,

probably one of the most
intense sports

you can compete in, right?

It's different than
a lot of other sports.

All eyes are on you.
It's not a team sport.

You know, there's a chance
you can get knocked out.

There's a lot kind of
racing through your mind.

Okay. All right.

Do you wanna pray with us?

Yes, 100%.

- I'm with you.
- All right.

Father God, just,
I wanna thank you

for everything you've done
in our lives, for--

for just being
with Tatiana today.

Help her to use her
God-given talents

and to remember
where she came from, God,

and how far she's come.

Give her strength
in her fighting

and in her mind
and in her heart, God.

We love you, God, and it's
in your son's name I pray.

Amen.
both: Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you, Lisa.

It comes with a lot
of extra emotions,

a lot of vulnerabilities,
a lot of insecurities.

So for her to control that,

Tatiana has one of the best
minds in all of MMA,

seeing as her injuries--
her ACL, her neck injuries,

injuries that
she's been able to overcome

and still have
a strong mindset.

Even though
she's still that strong,

these feelings--
anyone could succumb to them,

so it's important
for her to still have

her strong mindset right now.

And she does,
so I know in a couple hours,

she's gonna do
a great, great job.

♪ ♪

- The things that we do
take discipline,

and you have to constantly
say that to yourself.

Like, how bad do I want this?

How hard do I have
to work for this?

- I've had this recurring
dream where I always, like,

picture myself
at the top of that podium.

I just--I really want
that moment to come,

so I'm gonna do, like,
everything in my power

that I can just to have that.

I would rather take a loss
where I took chances any day,

where I would take a win
where I played it safe.

And I just feel like
it's another step

to where I wanna be.

- I just kind of find
a part of myself

before I step onto the mat.

I just feel indestructible.

Making my opponent quit
is the number one thing

that's on my mind.

♪ ♪

Boom, that's your
knockout right there.

Yep.

Cracked my neck.
You feel it?

Let's go, baby.

We all got your back.
Got an army.

♪ ♪

- And after almost four years
on the sidelines,

Tatiana Suarez
returns tonight.

- fans everywhere
want to see

what she delivers
in the Octagon.

Tatiana Suarez!

- The first fight
since June of 2019.

The return comes now.

- It's worth remembering,
though,

Suarez is
a lifelong competitor.

Four years away,
but in a life,

that's kind of just a blip.

And she's a monster.

When it comes to wrestling,
no one's been able

to stay on their feet.

Just making her
carry her weight.

- Her opponent's
a UFC veteran,

also the husband
of Montana De La Rosa.

- De La Rosa doing
a good job peppering

with little uppercuts.

And so far this is
the toughest test

we've seen for Suarez
taking somebody down.

- That shows the strength
of De La Rosa, and that's--

the weight class right there
makes a difference.

- De La Rosa really
making her work for it.

Good.
Square your hips up.

Clear your head.

Suarez pops her head out,

will go to work
from full guard.

- And that's classic
Tatiana Suarez.

That is how
she wins the fights.

But let's see what
Montana's got off her back.

Straighten up!

Use that gauge.
Fight the hands.

- Montana's doing a good job
fighting back to her feet.

A little knee there.

Stay behind her.
Stay behind her.

♪ ♪

- First five minutes
for Tatiana Suarez

in 3 1/2 years in the books.

Second round coming up.

Tatiana Suarez.

♪ ♪

Take that mouthpiece out,
Tati?

You gotta strike her
a little more.

Bounce around, get a little
more comfortable out there.

Dance, move your head.
Dance, move your head, okay?

- Dominic,
when you dust it off

after a long layoff
due to injury,

how is Tatiana Suarez feeling
right now after five minutes?

- Oh, I don't know
how she's feeling.

I know she's prepared
for this fight, though.

You could see it.

We'll see after this round,
though, we'll know.

Oh!

Bust her up, Tatiana.
Elbow her right there.

Cut her up. Let's go.

Take down. Take down.

Suarez is so strong.

She's doing a good job so far.

Oh, and gets spun down.

- The classic head
and arm throw.

De La Rosa can explode here,

now she's getting
dragged down.

♪ ♪

- Good front headlock.
- Wow. Absolutely.

- She goes for the guillotine.
She--

- Wow, that looks deep.
- Digs back.

Keep the crunch, Tatiana!

There's a slight grimace.

Suarez is gonna be a little
more on her side, though.

- De La Rosa,
she's on the side.

- She could get out, though.
She's doing the right thing.

She's gonna tap!

Oh, that'll do it!

Tatiana Suarez
back in a big way,

second round submission--

With a guillotine, baby!
Let's go.

Come on, baby.

She took a gamble,

big chance going
for that guillotine,

giving up top position.

- Wrestling 101,
snap to the front headlock,

and then here's
the jiu jitsu 101.

Throw the full guard in once
you get it underneath the chin

and just commit.

♪ ♪

Declaring the winner
by submission

due to a guillotine choke,

Tatiana Suarez!

Tatiana, tell me,
how good does this feel?

Four years away
from the Octagon.

Oh, my God.
I'm so happy.

I've been dreaming about this
for a long time.

I wasn't able to fight.

And it's really hard
when you can't do

what you love to do the most.

And I know what it's like
to lose one dream,

and I didn't
wanna lose another.

So, um, for me,
I just felt like,

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--
it's gonna work out.

And that optimism
that I have in my--

my heart and my--

my--my mom taught me that.

'Cause, you know, she knew
that I was gonna have...

Go, Mama.

- You know,
a really tough life.

Go, Mom.

- You know, I was
in a male-dominated sport,

and I was told my whole life
that I shouldn't be there.

So here I am.

And I belong here.

Congratulations
on a great comeback.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Tatiana Suarez!

- And it's hard to argue
with that

'cause there's not a lot
of athletes

that have come back
from what Tatiana Suarez

has come back from.

And when you do something
like this after a layoff,

after everybody tells you
it's impossible

and it can't be done
and you're not as good

as the other people who
stayed in, and you go do it,

it's hard to stop you
after that.

You had it.

I was, like, don't you
let that fucking go.

I knew you had her.

'Cause you just practiced it
right before you walked out.

You were like, let me do
one more guillotine on you.

And you jumped and did it.

My brother's on the phone.

What's up?

It feels good,
and I'm excited, man.

I'm so excited.
I wish you were here.

Thank you, bro.

I got 50,000 extra dollars.

Yeah, they said
you got a bonus.

I was wondering
what it was from.

Yeah, like, they give you,
like, a performance bonus

if you do really well.

If you get a submission,
you get a bonus.

- Yeah, or a knockout.
- Yeah.

Yeah, or a fight
of the night,

which is when they're beating
the shit out of each other.

You don't want that one.

Let's go.

Dude,
you're fucking bad-ass, bro.

Thank you.

I just feel like
I needed this one

for me, for my family,

like, everybody
who believes in me

and, like, hasn't given up
on me.

I'm back, though.

I'm so happy.

♪ ♪

- When I look at her,
I still see the baby

that was when I had her
and I looked at her eyes.

And I saw something special.

I had all these dreams
for her,

none of which I thought would
be wrestling or fighting,

but that she have
a great life,

that whatever she wanted
in life would happen for her.

- She's been in some
fucked up places, man.

And she's not broken.

It's just the beginning,
and she's not gonna break.

- I think that's what
challenges are supposed to do.

They're supposed
to make you better.

I'm grateful
for every single thing

that I've faced that was hard.

It helped me become a better
athlete, a better person.

For me,
that's part of my legacy.

It's not about
the victories for me.

It's about me inspiring
whoever I can

to pursue their dreams
and their passions.

Not only that,
but when things are tough,

to persevere
through those tough times.

♪ ♪