Katlyn Chookagian fought out her contract at UFC Vegas 46 on Saturday night.
Chookagian was rematching Jennifer Maia where she picked up another decision win in a solid performance. It was Chookagian's 10th UFC win, which all have come by decision, and cemented herself as one of the top contenders at flyweight. However, after her win, she revealed that was the last fight of her deal and the UFC declined to offer a new contract before the scrap.
“This was the last fight on my contract, and usually when you have one more, they renegotiate your contract,” Chookagian said at the post-fight press conference. “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 continued.
Katlyn Chookagian is currently ranked second at women's flyweight and is on a three-fight winning streak. Before beating Maia for the second time, she defeated Viviane Araujo and Cynthia Calvillo. She's currently 10-4 in the UFC and has fought for UFC gold once losing by TKO to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 247.
With her not being under contract, the hope for Chookagian is to reach a deal soon which would lead her to get another crack at the belt.
“I think the UFC needs to re-sign me before I think about [a title shot],” 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 [Shevchenko]. 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," she concluded. "So hopefully I get that call next week. I just hope that I’m still a UFC fighter after this performance... I’m a fighter. I’ll keep fighting no matter what, but I want to stay in the UFC, for sure.”
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