Manon Fiorot defeats no. 1 contender Katlyn Chookagian at UFC 280
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us today, October 22, 2022, live from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi for UFC 280.
The event is to be headlined by a UFC lightweight championship clash between no. 1 ranked Charles Oliveira (33-8) and no. 4 ranked Islam Makhachev (22-1).
Co-headlining the event was also title fight, this one showcasing UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling (21-3), who aims to make the second defense of his title against former two-time divisional champion TJ Dillashaw (17-4).
Opening up our main card today was a women’s flyweight bout between former two-division CFFC champion and former UFC flyweight title challenger, no. 1 ranked Katlyn Chookagian (18-4). She faced former EFC & UAE flyweight champion, no. 6 ranked Manon Fiorot (9-1) to kick the pay-per-view card off.
Chookagian has only ever lost to the very best in the sport, as she continues defeating contender after contender en route to her current four-fight win streak, and Fiorot only ever lost her first fight via split decision, bringing her into this bout on a nine-fight win streak.
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Continue reading to see how this flyweight contender bout went down:
Official Result: Manon Fiorot def. Katlyn Chookagian via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Fiorot controls the center of the octagon throughout the first five minutes. She’s landing some nice side kicks to the leg and body of Chookagian, while Chookagian is doing a good job of keeping her distance for the most part, landing some nice strikes of her own.
This is becoming a very close fight, as with 40 seconds left in the middle stretch the striking totals are dead even at 46-46, though both are landing at a clip of just under 30%.
Fiorot is making this a much more difficult fight for Chookagian than we’re used to seeing.
Chookagian is also looking sharp, but Fiorot is able to land on her much more often than the majority of the no. 1 contenders opponents.
Just as they were even in significant strikes at the end of round two, with 25 seconds left in the third and final round, each of them had landed 23 strikes on one another throughout this round as well. Fiorot secures a beautiful takedown late in the third, though Chookagian makes her way back up after about 10 seconds.
This could have won her the fight, as she defeats the no. 1 contender on all three judges scorecards.
Manon Fiorot has now won her last 10-straight bouts, and she’s now 5-0 inside the octagon, this being the second-straight former title challenger she’s defeated.
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