Crazy Godinez stands on the threshold of a title shot, however first she should overcome one of many strawweight division’s hardest 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 efficiency.
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. Throughout the cage stands Suarez, the second-ranked contender who rebounded from her first profession loss with a unanimous choice 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 brand spanking new contenders. Mackenzie Dern claimed the vacant belt by defeating Virna Jandiroba by way of unanimous choice at UFC 321 in October 2025. Godinez, who misplaced to Dern by choice in August 2024, sees a transparent path ahead 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 bold. When requested how the yr would unfold if all the pieces went her method, Godinez laid out her imaginative and prescient: “If it was as much as me, beat Tatiana after which I’m the following challenger for the belt and I win the belt and I find yourself the yr as a champion, and begin defending the belt early subsequent yr and keep the champion, be dominant.”
The enhancements she’s made at WKX in Vancouver below coach John have been seen throughout her latest performances. After two consecutive losses to Dern and Jandiroba in 2024, Godinez returned to Vancouver, the place she started her profession, and credit the transfer along with her resurgence. She videotapes each coaching session to trace her progress, permitting her to determine delicate changes that translate into struggle night time success.
“The final yr I’ve been doing my camp right here in Vancouver at WKX with John, Johnny, and I really feel like you may see plenty of distinction in the entire stuff that I’ve been altering,” Godinez mentioned. “I videotape myself on a regular basis, so I get to see plenty of stuff that I didn’t used to do and now I’m doing. My coach is all the time watching me once I’m coaching, so he’s declaring issues instantly, what I want to repair, what I’m doing higher. And so I get to see it once I’m coaching after which once I’m on the market combating it’s simply simpler to do it.”
Godinez compares her fight camps to studying choreography, saying she tries “to see combating as a dancing.” Throughout camp, she’s “dancing once I’m studying, once I’m drilling, after which that method once I’m combating I can do the dance that I’ve been training all these months.”
Suarez presents a major problem. The 35-year-old was undefeated till Zhang Weili handed her a lopsided unanimous choice loss at UFC 312 in February 2025. That title struggle uncovered vulnerabilities in Suarez’s recreation, as Zhang grew to become the primary fighter to take her down within the UFC and badly rocked her with strikes within the third spherical. However Suarez’s 11-1 report consists of seven UFC victories, with six finishes coming by way of 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.
