One of the bouts on the undercard at UFC 210 on Saturday, April 8 in Buffalo, New York has Irene Aldana taking on Katlyn Chookagian. Both fighters are looking to bounce back from losses, as Aldana was beaten by Leslie Smith in mid-December, while Chookagian suffered the first loss in her career in mid-November, as she was beaten by Liz Carmouche. This fight is one of four preliminary bouts that can be seen on UFC Fight Pass.
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Irene Aldana (7-3, 0-1 UFC)
Aldana had the bulk of her success in Invicta FC with four wins and just one loss and that loss was to Tonya Evinger who is the bantamweight champion and a fighter that many people think should already be in the UFC. Aldana made her UFC debut in December of last year and she lost a unanimous decision to Leslie Smith in what was the Fight of the Night.
The fight against Smith was the only one in the career of Aladana to go to a decision so taking the rounds under against Chookagian could be the way to go at UFC 210.
Katlyn Chookagian (8-1, 1-1 UFC)
Chookagian started her career at 8-0 and nearly made it nine straight, but lost by split decision to Liz Carmouche. Even though Chookagian lost that fight, she showed a lot of heart in the defeat. She lost the first two rounds against Carmouche but came back to win the third round and she nearly finished Carmouche. Chookagian said she learned a lot from the fight.
“After that fight, it was my first loss in MMA, but I’ve done boxing and kickboxing and jiu-jitsu, and I’ve lost, so I know what that feels like and I know what it’s like to come back,” she said to UFC.com. “And if anything, even though it was a loss, I think that fight gave me more confidence and made me become more eager to get back in there again.”
The loss to Carmouche was definitely not a bad one, and it was just the second bout in the UFC for Chookagian. The fight proved that Chookagian has knockout power. “I told Mark (trainer), ‘Well at least now I have confidence that I have knockout power.’ And he said, ‘What are you talking about? In the last year, there were three guys in sparring that you knocked out with head kicks.’ Oh yeah, I guess you’re right. (Laughs) So it was something that I’ve always had, but I never really had the confidence in it.”
The fight against Aldana sets up well for Chookagian as both will be looking to keep the fight standing. “Any fight gets me excited,” said Chookagian, “After my last fight, I had no injuries and I was so eager to get back in there. But stylistically, this is a really fun fight. I’m excited because we’ll both be able to showcase our skills.”
UFC Picks
This is a fight that definitely will be worth watching as both fighters will be looking to trade shots in a striking battle. I think Chookagian has the edge so I will take her to win and I would be surprised if it goes the distance, so I will also take the rounds under.
Main Card (pay-per-view)
Daniel Cormier -110 vs. Anthony Johnson (rounds 1.5 over -145)
Gegard Mousasi -120 vs. Chris Weidman (rounds 2.5 over -180)
Patrick Cote -170 vs. Thiago Alves (rounds 2.5 over -170)
Will Brooks -279 vs. Charles Oliveira (rounds 2.5 over -135)
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Pearl Gonzalez
Preliminary Card (FS1)
Kamaru Usman vs. Sean Strickland
Charles Rosa vs. Shane Burgos
Patrick Cummins vs. Jan Blachowicz
Myles Jury vs. Mile De La Torre
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Josh Emmett vs. Desmond Green
Andrew Holbrook vs. Gregor Gillespie
Irene Aldana vs. Katlyn Chookagian
Jenel Lausa vs. Magomed Bibulatov
UFC 210: Cormier vs. Johnson 2 takes place on Saturday, April 8 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The event features a rematch between Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson with Cormier defending his light heavyweight title.
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