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The biggest betting underdog on UFC 247’s fight card, Katlyn Chookagian had her work cut out for her tonight (Sat., Feb. 8, 2020), taking on women’s Flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko — who is widely regarded as among the top pound-for-pound fighters on the planet — in the pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event.
And, unfortunately for her, the bookies were right on the money, with Shevchenko putting on a striking clinic en route to a third round technical knockout finish.
Shevchenko came out of her corner laser-focused, while Chookagian bobbed and weaved, not giving “Bullet” a stationary target. Shevchenko opened with a teep, then fired a hard left hand right down the pike. She went for a spinning backfist, but Chookagian was coming in with a simultaneous left hand and she accidentally blocked it. Shevchenko scored with a thudding low kick, then just missed with a follow up question mark kick. Chookagian fired off a kick to the body, Shevchenko caught her leg in mid-air and dumped her on the canvas. Shevchenko landed in full guard as Chookagian played defense off her back. Shevchenko was only able to land one strike — a hellacious elbow that split open Chookagian’s left eye — before the round came to a close.
Chookagian had blood streaming down her face and onto her chest coming out for the second stanza. Shevchenko landed a hard shot to the body with her left leg, then scored again with a spinning back kick to Chookagian’s belly. Shevchenko landed a nice combination, but Chookagian was able to handle them well. Shevchenko went back to attacking the legs, creating a huge welt on Chookagian’s thigh. Shevchenko was really starting to get warmed up, landing a dynamic wheel kick — then an axe kick — that set up a takedown shortly thereafter. She began to go to work from side control, pinning Chookagian’s head to the canvas and boxing her right ear.
Chookagianstarted round three with a teep, then a solid knee to the guts, before jumping on Shevchenko to pull guard. That was a terrible mistake because Shevchenko immediately got Chookagian into a crucifix position and start going to town, blasting Chookagian’s forehead with hard, fast shots like pistons pumping. The referee was on top of the action and jumped in to stop it the moment he realized Chookagian was stuck in an awful position and could not defend herself.
That’s now five straight wins for Shevchenko, including three title defenses. There’s not much left for “Bullet” to prove in the 125-pound division, with a possible “super” fight against Strawweight champion, Weili Zhang, now looking more and more like the most viable option moving forward.
There’s simply no other fighter on the current Flyweight roster who can hold a candle to “Bullet” right now.
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