UFC strawweight Tatiana Suarez has revealed that she is still suffering from a neck injury and isn’t expected to return to competition anytime soon.

The wrestling specialist suffered the neck injury during the lead-up to her fight against Nina Ansaroff this past June. The injury was worsened during round-one of the fight, after Suarez attempted a takedown. Nevertheless, Suarez managed to fight through and earn the unanimous decision nod over Ansaroff.

During a recent chat with theScore, Suarez revealed she is still suffering from the injury, despite having received cortisone and stem cell injections.

“For a while, (my neck) felt worse after the injection, and it’s probably because they put a needle inside my spine. It felt horrible for a while, but it’s getting better.” Suarez said.

“Say I’m hitting mitts, and I do just one-arm stuff – say I throw a combination and it’s all left-arm stuff. It starts dropping, and it becomes really, really fatigued way easier than my other hand,” she continued. “That’s kind of an indication that it’s not firing like it’s supposed to. And when I do my strength and conditioning, I notice a difference on the left side with my arms.”

Suarez says she is keen to fight again, but only wants to return once she feels 100 percent.

“Of course, I want to get in there and fight, but I just think it’s not very wise to jump in because with this type of injury, if I hurt it again – when nerves get agitated, it’s just horrible,” Suarez said. “I just don’t want to re-aggravate it and start the healing process all over again.”

Suarez (8-0-0) is considered by many as a top contender for the UFC strawweight title, currently held by Weili Zhang. The 28-year-old has never been beaten in her MMA career and since signing with the UFC, has picked up wins over the likes of Carla Esparza, Alexa Grasso and Nina Ansaroff.

Click HERE to view the full interview with Tatiana Suarez, courtesy of theScore.