Loopy Godinez stands at the threshold of a title shot, but first she must overcome one of the strawweight division’s toughest gatekeepers. The Mexican-Canadian fighter faces Tatiana Suarez on April 11 at UFC 327 in Miami, carrying a two-fight win streak and championship aspirations that hinge on this single performance.
Loopy Godinez vs. Tatiana Suarez
The stakes have never been higher for Godinez. Ranked seventh in the division, she’s coming off consecutive decision victories over former champion Jessica Andrade at UFC 319 in August 2025 and Julia Polastri in March 2025. Across the cage stands Suarez, the second-ranked contender who rebounded from her first career loss with a unanimous decision over Amanda Lemos at Noche UFC in September 2025.
“This is a very important fight because we are very close to the belt now,” Godinez said in an interview with MMA Junkie. “I see this fight as one of the most important ones, which every time I fight I see that fight as the most important one because my next fight is just bringing me closer to where I want to be at. Every single fight is important for me. Every single fight is unique. But definitely, this is important because it’s just getting me closer to that belt. If not, I’m the next challenger.”
The division has transformed since Godinez began her current run. Zhang Weili vacated the strawweight title in August 2025 to challenge flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, opening the door for new contenders. Mackenzie Dern claimed the vacant belt by defeating Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision at UFC 321 in October 2025. Godinez, who lost to Dern by decision in August 2024, sees a clear path forward if she defeats Suarez.
“I think this is a huge opportunity for me,” Godinez explained. “This is a very important fight for me and this is the fight I have to win to get to my goal, which is fight for the title, be a champion, and we go from there.”
Her UFC timeline is ambitious. When asked how the year would unfold if everything went her way, Godinez laid out her vision: “If it was up to me, beat Tatiana and then I’m the next challenger for the belt and I win the belt and I end up the year as a champion, and start defending the belt early next year and stay the champion, be dominant.”
The improvements she’s made at WKX in Vancouver under coach John have been visible across her recent performances. After two consecutive losses to Dern and Jandiroba in 2024, Godinez returned to Vancouver, where she began her career, and credits the move with her resurgence. She videotapes every training session to track her progress, allowing her to identify subtle adjustments that translate into fight night success.
“The last year I’ve been doing my camp here in Vancouver at WKX with John, Johnny, and I feel like you can see a lot of difference in all of the stuff that I’ve been changing,” Godinez said. “I videotape myself all the time, so I get to see a lot of stuff that I didn’t used to do and now I’m doing. My coach is always watching me when I’m training, so he’s pointing out things right away, what I need to fix, what I’m doing better. And so I get to see it when I’m training and then when I’m out there fighting it’s just easier to do it.”
Godinez compares her fight camps to learning choreography, saying she tries “to see fighting as a dancing.” During camp, she’s “dancing when I’m learning, when I’m drilling, and then that way when I’m fighting I can do the dance that I’ve been practicing all these months.”
Suarez presents a significant challenge. The 35-year-old was undefeated until Zhang Weili handed her a lopsided unanimous decision loss at UFC 312 in February 2025. That title fight exposed vulnerabilities in Suarez’s game, as Zhang became the first fighter to take her down in the UFC and badly rocked her with strikes in the third round. But Suarez’s 11-1 record includes seven UFC victories, with six finishes coming via submission or knockout.
For Godinez, who holds a 14-5 overall record and 9-5 mark in the UFC, the path to gold runs directly through Suarez. She’s fought tough competition throughout her UFC tenure, facing former or future title challengers including Dern, Jandiroba, and Andrade. Now, with new champion Dern holding the belt and the division reshuffling after Weili’s departure, Godinez has positioned herself for the biggest opportunity of her career.
“I learn a lot every single fight camp, and every single fight camp I’m fighting someone different and then it kind of helps me to adapt to things, to add things, to take things, just to be better in some other ways,” Godinez said.
At 32 years old and in her prime, Godinez believes happiness is the key to peak performance. Training in Vancouver near her family has made all the difference. “I know when I’m the happiest is where I perform the best, is where I train the best,” she said.
A victory over Suarez at UFC 327 would mark the biggest win of Godinez’s career and likely secure her a title shot against Dern, setting up a rematch that could define both fighters’ legacies. But first, she must execute the dance she’s been rehearsing for months.
