UFC 244 results: Katlyn Chookagian wants a title shot following win over Jennifer Maia

Katlyn Chookagian is hoping after her latest win that the next stop in her career will be a UFC flyweight title shot.

Showcasing a strong striking arsenal over three rounds, Chookagian got the better of Jennifer Maia in nearly every exchange en route to her second win in a row overall with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in her favor. Afterwards, Chookagian confirmed that the UFC is already aware of what she wants next but now it’s just a matter of whether or not she’s granted a chance to face flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko.

“The UFC knows exactly who I want,” Chookagian said when referencing the title fight. “If they’re not going to give it to me, I’m going to keep taking down every girl in the top five until they give it to me.”

Known for her distance striking, Chookagian did her best to keep Maia on the outside throughout the opening round while snapping off a fast jab that was her best punch. Chookagian then started to throw more kicks to the body, which then opened up head shots as well.

Maia continued to move forward with aggression but she was unable to land with the accuracy or volume as Chookagian.

As the fight continued, the New Jersey based fighter was able to assault Maia from head to toe with a versatile striking attack while avoiding any of the power punches coming back from the Brazilian.

It seemed like every time Maia thought she found an opening to unleash a combination, Chookagian was already out of the way and coming back with two and three strikes as she returned fire.

With five minutes remaining, Maia was still as active as ever with her output reaching more than 200 strikes thrown but unfortunately she was landing with less than 25 percent accuracy. In return, Chookagian just kept peppering away at her with solid boxing and good kicks to the legs and body.

While Chookagian wasn’t doing a ton of damage, she was clearly up on the scorecards as she outpointed Maia during nearly every minute of every round. Maia did manage a late takedown with a minute remaining in the fight but the action largely stalled in that position until the final horn sounded.

The win moved Chookagian to 4-1 at 125 pounds in the UFC and she obviously wants the shot at the belt next after she was actually offered a chance to face Shevchenko back in September but had to turn down the fight with her wedding just around the corner.