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Get up date on the co-main event of UFC 247 between Valentina Shevchenko and Katlyn Chookagian.
In the co-main event of UFC 247 this weekend, women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (18-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) will look to defend her title for the third time against number one contender Katlyn Cookagian (13-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC). UFC 247 Jones vs. Reyes takes place live this Saturday night, February 8th, from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The main card will air live on PPV via ESPN+ beginning with a fight time of 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT, with the ESPN2 prelims kicking off at 8:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. ET on Fight Pass and ESPN+.
How do these two stack up?
Shevchenko: 31 years old | 5’9” | 66.5” reach
Chookagian: 31 years old | 5’9” | 68” reach
How did these two get here?
Shevchenko: W – Liz Carmouche (DEC) | W – Jessica Eye (KO) | W – Joanna Jedrzejczyk (DEC)
Chookagian: W – Jennifer Maia (DEC) | W – Joanne Calderwood (DEC) | L – Jessica Eye (DEC)
What have these two done recently?
Valentina Shevchenko’s last fight against Liz Carmouche may not have been the most entertaining of title defences, but the unanimous decision win for “Bullet” proved just how far ahead she is from the rest of the division. Her violent head kick KO win against Jessica Eye at UFC 238 last year was a candidate for the best knockout of 2019, and rightly so. Shevchenko is heavily favoured to get past Chookagian this weekend, and despite the odds she is by no means taking her opponent lightly.
Despite only being on a two-fight winning streak, Katlyn Chookagian has found herself ranked in the number-one spot of the flyweight rankings. “Blonde Fighter” had a good 2019 winning consecutive unanimous decisions against Joanne Calderwood and Jennifer Maia. The 31-year-old faces a huge step up in competition against Shevchenko this weekend.
Why should you care?
Quite like the main event of UFC 247, Chookagian is a huge underdog like Dominick Reyes, but writing her off completely would be stupid.