UFC Vegas 54’s Katlyn Chookagian: “Evolving” Women’s Flyweight Division Now More Interesting

Las Vegas, NV — After staving off Amanda Ribas, who made the move up from strawweight for the fight, Katlyn Chookagian is in a good place.

Chookagian (18-4) has now won four straight fights, with the latest being the first of her new UFC contract.

“I’m just happy to get a win,” Chookagian told media outlets including Cageside Press following UFC Vegas 54 on Saturday. “Really at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”

Ribas, she said, is “a tough fighter. Tough, strong, and game. But she’s not very intelligent. That’s no disrespect, I just think my fight IQ is higher than most of the girls I fight.”

Following the bout, “Blonde Fighter” rattled off a list of names that she hoped to face next. Among them, rising French flyweight Manon Fiorot.

“I think I called out like four people or something, but she was definitely one of them,” Chookagian said. The reason for that particular callout is simple. “Just to stay active. She’s ranked high, and I think her last fight, she called me out. That was pretty cool. Nothing specific. It’s nice to have fresh faces in the division, especially up in the top of the division, so that sparked my interest.”

Fresh faces are key for Chookagian, who has become a bonafide number two in the weight class, next to dominant champ Valentina Shevchenko. The 33-year old even had an eye on another flyweight fight Saturday, Viviane Araujo vs. Andrea Lee, calling it an “amazing performance by Viviane,” who Chookagian holds a win over.

“It’s good to see amazing fights in the flyweight division,” she stated. “I think over the past year, the flyweight division’s evolving so much, and you’re seeing fresh faces, and just different girls are becoming better, and it’s becoming a better, more interesting division.”

Watch Katlyn Chookagian’s full UFC Vegas 54 post-fight media scrum above. More coverage from the event can be found below.