Cynthia Calvillo Expects Fight With Tatiana Suarez En Route To The UFC Title

Cynthia Calvillo will return to the UFC Octagon on Nov. 17 when she takes on Poliana Botelho at UFC Fight Night 140 and she’s hoping to get back into the UFC strawweight title mix as soon as possible.

Calvillo was last in action at UFC 219 when she lost for the first time in her pro career to Carla Esparza. It was revealed after the fight that she also failed an in-competition drug test for marijuana metabolites and was subsequently suspended by USADA for 6 months. The Nevada Athletic Commission later extended the ban to 9 months.

Having spent time on the sidelines, Calvillo has watched a number of other strawweight contenders come to the fore. With Tatiana Suarez going on to defeat Calvillo’s former opponent Esparza, the Team Alpha Male fighter now sees Suarez as one of the top contenders in the division and a likely future opponent for champion Rose Namajunas.

“For sure, she’s the one that I see is coming up and being the next big title challenger,” Calvillo told the Slip n’ Dip Podcast. “As far as where that puts me in the division, everyone has either fought and lost for the title or has fought Joanna, so they will have to fight their way up.

“She [Suarez] just beat Carla Esparza and beat her up pretty bad you know. That says a lot about her and she’s definitely going to be up there. Everybody before her already fought for the title and that was the way I was going, I was in that spot, now she’s there.”

Whilst expecting Suarez to be one of the next title challengers, Calvillo also expects the two of them will cross paths in the near future. As far as she’s concerned, Suarez is just one of many fighters she will have to go through to challenge for the title and she’s willing to take on all challengers.

“I’ve no doubt in my mind that we’re going to meet and I look forward to fighting every single girl in the division,” Calvillo said.

“I’m going to do everything I can to get to that title and she may well be the person I cross and I’m open to that. I want to fight the best so that there’s no question that I’m the best.”

Watch the full video: