The UFC has finalized a big matchup in the women’s flyweight division. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report that the promotion has finalized a matchup between former title challenger, Katlyn Chookagian (15-4), and Viviane Araujo (10-2).
The matchup will take place on May 15th. Araujo has shown a ton of promise in her young UFC career. She made her debut with the promotion back in 2019. After her first win by knockout, the promotion gave her former title challenger, Alexis Davis, in her second bout.
Again, Araujo impressed picking up a unanimous decision over Davis. Araujo made a jump up in competition for her next fight taking on Jessica Eye. That night, Araujo lost just her second career fight.
However, she’s bounced back from that loss strong in the last few months. In September she made her only UFC appearance of 2020 and won by decision. Then, she took on the tough Roxanne Modafferi in January and won by unanimous decision.
Going 4-1 in her UFC career against some stiff competition has seen Araujo rise through the rankings. When she makes the walk against Chookagian, she will do it as the seventh ranked flyweight in the UFC.
UFC title eliminator?
The UFC’s flyweight division has been very fluid in terms of contenders over the past couple of years. However, one staple near the top has been Katlyn Chookagian. Chookagian is currently the second ranked flyweight in the promotion.
In her last 11 fights inside the octagon, Chookagian is 7-4. However, one of those losses was to the champion and the other three were to top competition. Her last loss came against former UFC strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade.
Andrade is next in line to fight for the title, but Chookagian isn’t far away. Back at UFC 255, Chookagian took on Cythia Calvillo. Calvillo looked like she could be a challenger for the title, however, Chookagian was having none of it.
Over the course of three rounds, Chookagian controlled the fight and won by decision. If she’s able to defeat Araujo in May, she could very well be in line for a rematch and another shot at the UFC flyweight title. Should be a fun one in a few months.