Little did anyone know, however, that Suarez (10-0), a native of Covina, California, who was a 2012 Olympic hopeful in the sport of wrestling, would need to wait an additional nine years in order to finally be healthy enough to take her shot at championship glory.

They often call UFC athletes "fighters," but in the case of UFC 312's title challenger Tatiana Suarez, she's been fighting her entire career.

The specter of "what if?" has chased Tatiana Suarez for the better part of a decade. At UFC 312, she finally gets a chance to rid herself of it forever.

Everything you need to know about the UFC 312 co-main event fight: UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez. Odds, picks, predictions, stats and more.