Perennially-ranked UFC flyweight Katlyn
Chookagian is a free agent – at least for now.
After defeating Jennifer
Maia via unanimous decision in a rematch at UFC on ESPN 32,
Chookagian revealed that she just fought the last fight on her
current deal.
“This was the last fight on my contract, and usually when you have
one more, they renegotiate your contract,” Chookagian told
assembled media after the event. “So when they offered this fight,
I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m up for negotiation for a new contract,’ and they
were like, ‘Oh no, we want you to fight this [contract] out.’
“That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to cut me, but it’s
usually not good news. Hopefully with this performance, I’d like to
think they want to keep me. I want to stay here. So hopefully I
proved that tonight.”
Chookagian challenged for flyweight gold in 2020, falling to
Valentina
Shevchenko via third-round TKO at UFC 247. She wasn’t
especially competitive in that bout, nor was she against
ex-strawweight queen Jessica
Andrade at UFC Fight Night 180, but outside of that “Blonde
Fighter” has consistently taken down contenders in the division
including Maia (twice), Viviane
Araujo, Cynthia
Calvillo and Joanne Wood,
to name a few.
She is currently on a three-fight winning streak, and in a weight
class short on challengers for Shevchenko, Chookagian could be on
the verge of title contention once again.
“I think the UFC needs to re-sign me before I think about that,”
Chookagian said. “I’m on a three-fight win streak, all top-five
opponents, so I would hope they re-sign me. They didn’t want to
extend my contract before this fight, so hopefully I proved I
belong here. I’m No. 2 in the division. I’ve been No. 2 or No. 1
for three or four years since the division started. I have as many
wins as Valentina. I’ve beaten probably more top-10 fighters than
any other fighter in the UFC, male or female. This is my 14th
fight. I think all but two, maybe three, were all top-10
opponents.
“So I think I earned my spot here in the UFC. So hopefully I get
that call next week. I just hope that I’m still a UFC fighter after
this performance.”
Perhaps the one factor working against Chookagian is the lack of
finishes on her resume. Saturday marked her 10th UFC triumph, and
thus far, all have gone to the judges, making her the first fighter
in promotion history to earn that many victories without a
stoppage.
UFC president Dana White didn’t provide much in the way of clarity
on Chookagian’s status at the post-fight presser.
“I know that we went into this fight with her contract, it’s
expired now,” White said. “She’s a free agent right now. I don’t
know. That was between her and [matchmaker] Mick [Maynard], he did
that deal with her. So we’ll see what happens.”