Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC Vegas 54, we are going to see a fun matchup in the women’s flyweight division. Former title challenger Katlyn Chookagian (17-4) will be taking on top strawweight contender Amanda Ribas (11-2).
Ribas will be moving up to 125 pounds for this fight at UFC Vegas 54. When Ribas first came onto the UFC scene, she started off very strong with five consecutive wins. Those wins included wins over the likes of Mackenzie Dern, Randa Markos, and Paige VanZant.
Then, Ribas was stopped by Marina Rodriguez at UFC 257. After taking some time off, she returned in October where she defeated Virna Jandiroba. Now, she’s moving up to 125 pounds to take on one of the best in the world.
It’s pretty clear that Katyln Chookagian is becoming a bit of a gate-keeper at 125. Blonde Fighter is definitely one of the very best in the world and her resume shows that. She’s 6-2 in her last eight UFC fights.
The only losses came against Valentina Shevchenko and Jessica Andrade. Since the Andrade loss, she’s won three in a row and she’s hoping to get another crack at the UFC flyweight title.
UFC Vegas 54 Prediction
I was really impressed with what I saw from Amanda Ribas in her last fight. She looked much better on the feet and she’s going to need to be sharp at UFC Vegas 54 if she wants to defeat Katlyn Chookagian.
One thing we know for sure about Chookagian is that she’s going to throw with a lot of volume. She’s become so successful at just outworking her opponents and winning decisions. If the fight goes to the scorecards and Chookagian is involved, she’s likely going to get the win.
Ribas is sensational on the ground, but I wonder if her ground skills would get neutralized by the size advantage of Chookagian. For the most part, I see this fight staying on the feet. Now, Ribas’ speed could play a factor in getting her the win at UFC Vegas 54.
However, I’ve seen Chookagian over and over again land just the right amount of shots to win rounds and win fights. Ultimately, I think this is a close one, but Blonde Fighter takes the decision.
Prediction: Katlyn Chookagian by Decision