Women’s flyweight contenders Katlyn Chookagian and Jessica Eye are getting their chance to make a statement at UFC 231.
Officials announced Wednesday that Chookagian and Eye will fight on Dec. 8 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The bout was first reported by ESPN.
Both women are currently in the top-10 of the UFC’s official contenders’ rankings and, should they make championship weight of 125 pounds, would presumably be eligible to replace eitherValentina Shevchenko or Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the flyweight title co-main event should one of those fighters be forced to withdraw for any reason. However, no announcement has been made yet in regards to whether that alternative is being considered.
Chookagian is unbeaten so far since dropping down to the nascent women’s flyweight division. She competed at 125 pounds prior to joining the UFC and then was signed as a bantamweight where she went 2-1 with decision wins over Irene Aldana and Lauren Murphy. At flyweight, Chookagian has won her last two, outpointing one-time 135-pound title challenger Alexis Davis and Mara Romero Borella.
Overall, Chookagian is 11-1 as a pro.
On the other side, Eye has seen her career revitalized with the flyweight move. Eye was once seen as one of the top bantamweights in the world, but she struggled to live up to that billing inside the Octagon where she went just 1-5 (excluding one no-contest), including a stretch of four straight losses from July 2015 to September 2016.
Eye ended that skid in her UFC flyweight debut, taking a split nod over Kalindra Faria in January and following that with a unanimous decision win over Jessica-Rose Clark at UFC Singapore in June. The Ohio native is 13-6 (1 NC) as a pro.
See the updated UFC 231 card below (final bout order to be determined):
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Hakeem Dawodu vs. Kyle Bochniak
Devin Clark vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Claudia Gadelha vs. Nina Ansaroff
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Gilbert Burns
Katlyn Chookagian vs. Jessica Eye
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