The UFC has formally announced its upcoming event in The Windy City. UFC 238 occurs June 8 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois, and the first three bouts for the card have been shown, including the women’s flyweight title battle. My thoughts about the new bouts — all of women’s struggles — are below.
UFC 238 vs. Jessica Eye, valentina Shevchenko UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will make her first title defense when she takes on Jessica Eye at UFC 238. Though not official, it’s probably this bout will function as the co-main occasion of the pay-per-view.
Shevchenko (16-3) is 5-2 in the UFC and won the empty flyweight title with a five-round unanimous decision win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk in her final outing. She is 2-0 as a flyweight at the UFC, and her only two losses in the Octagon came against double champ Amanda Nunes. Eye (14-6, 1 NC) is 4-5, 1 NC overall in the UFC and is 3-0 since moving to the flyweight division. However, her three wins at 125lbs were all very close decisions, also Shevchenko is a massive step up in contest from who Eye has been battling.
Start looking for the champ Shevchenko to start as a monster favorite here as she looks to receive her first title defense under her belt and start to build her legacy in the sport.
Katlyn Chookagian vs. Joanne Calderwood, UFC 238
Flyweight contenders Katlyn Chookagian and Joanne Calderwood are also set to meet at UFC 238. If there’s an accident to somebody in the most important event, it’s possible either of those fighters might be called up to fight for the title.
Chookagian (11-2) is 4-2 overall in the UFC and many recently dropped a split decision to Eye in UFC 231. Calderwood (13-3) is 5-2 at the UFC and is coming off of back-to-back wins over Ariane Lipski and Kalindra Faria since going up to flyweight.
Moving up in weight looks like it had been the best choice of Calderwood’s livelihood as she looks rejuvenated at her new weight class. Chookagian is a decent fighter, but she lacks the finishing capability that Calderwood has. The betting line should be fairly close, but I’d prefer Calderwood here.
Tatiana Suarez vs. Nina Ansaroff, UFC 238
Top women’s strawweight contenders Tatiana Suarez and Nina Ansaroff will square off UFC 238 with a possible title shot on the line.
Suarez (7-0) won The Ultimate Fighter 23 and can be a perfect 4-0 in the UFC such as a gigantic TKO win over Carla Esparza in her last outing that declared herself as a legitimate title contender at 115lbs. Ansaroff (10-5) is 4-2 at the UFC and is now riding a four-fight win streak with a breakthrough decision win over Claudia Gadelha in her last fight.
This is a huge matchup between two of the trendiest strawweights on the planet, and the winner should be next in line to resist the success of UFC 237’s Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade. Although I love what Ansaroff was performing lately, you just have to go for the upside and take Suarez inside this fight. Like she always appears like, I expect Suarez to be a big favorite to win this battle.
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