UFC Fight Night 180 co-main event
The next UFC tournament on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi awaits MMA fans this coming weekend. The UFC Fight Night 180 show promises to please the long-awaited fight in the featherweight division.
Former UFC strawweight champion Andrade is returning to the flyweight division to take on former UFC title challenger Chookagian.
Andrade did not stay long in the status of UFC champion. Having won the belt in May 2019 after she slammed Rose Namajunas, Jessica was knocked out in 42 seconds in China by local fighter Zhang Weili 3.5 months later. In July at UFC 251, Andrade attempted to close her loss but lost on points to Namajunas in a rematch.
Chookagyan had her last two fights against the Shevchenko sisters. In February at UFC 247, she was beaten by Valentina, who defended the title and finished the contender with strikes in the 3rd round. And in May, Kathleen returned to unconditionally defeat Antonina on the scorecards.
Prediction for the fight
Andrade is known for her aggressive style. She tends to go forward, land powerful hooks on her opponent and hope that her chin can withstand all the oncoming attacks.
Chookagyan is noticeably taller and uses his limbs and height well to interrupt opponents from a distance. She is also a serious grappler. The Brazilian berserk style is generally comfortable for Chookagian, and she has all the skills to do to Andrade what Namajunas and Joanna Jedrzejczyk did to her.
The fact that Chookagian hasn’t won a single stoppage win in the UFC, with a total of seven wins, suggests that she is unlikely to be able to finish Andrade.
Chookagian win on points
Main card
Brian Ortega – Jung Chan Sung
Jessica Andrade – Kathleen Chookagian
Modestas Bukauskas – Jimmy Cool
Claudio Silva – James Krause
Thomas Almeida – Jonathan Martinez
preliminary card
Mateusz Gamrot – Guram Kutateladze
Gillian Robertson – Poliana Botelho
Park Jung-young – John Phillips
Fares Ziam – Jamie Mullarkey
Gadzhimurad Antigulov – Maxim Grishin
Said Nurmagomedov – Mark Strigl
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