UFC on ESPN 32 co-main event
The fight will take place on January 16 in Las Vegas (Nevada, USA) at the UFC Apex complex and will be one of the main ones at the UFC on ESPN 32 (UFC Vegas 46) tournament. Estimated start of the battle – 04:00 Kyiv time. The fight will be broadcast live on Setanta Sports.
A rematch in the women’s flyweight division between No. 2 Kathleen Chookagian (16-4) and No. 4 Jennifer Maya (19-7-1) could have been a challenger, if not for one “but”. Chookagyan, like Maya, unsuccessfully completed their fights against UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko, so it is unlikely that the winner of the fight will deserve a rematch with Bullet.
Chookagian earned her title shot with a unanimous decision win over Maya in November 2019. Now Kathleen is on a two win streak, winning on points against Cynthia Calvillo and Vivian Araujo.
Maia in November 2020 was defeated by Shevchenko on points, since then the Brazilian has fought only once – in July, she closed the defeat with a unanimous decision victory over Jessica Eye.
Prediction for the fight
Chookagyan and Maya are good both in the stand and on the floor. For Maya, it is important to break into the close distance, where she could either interrupt her opponent, or try to knock her to the ground and realize herself there. On the ground, BJJ black belt Maya looks quite dangerous.
However, Chookagyan can skillfully act from a distance, using her anthropometry – she is 12 cm taller than Maya. Chookagyan is by no means a finisher and does not have a knockout punch, so we believe that she will not be able to win her first early victory in the UFC yet.
Chookagian win on points
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