The UFC has officially announced its forthcoming event in The Windy City. UFC 238 occurs June 8 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois, along with the first few bouts for the card have been shown, including the women’s flyweight title battle. My thoughts on the new bouts — all women’s struggles — are below.
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Eye UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will make her first title defense when she chooses on Jessica Eye in UFC 238. Though not official, it’s likely this bout will function as the co-main occasion of this pay-per-view.
Shevchenko (16-3) is 5-2 in the UFC and won the vacant flyweight title with a five-round unanimous decision win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk in her last outing. She is 2-0 as a flyweight in the UFC, and her just two losses in the Octagon came against double champ Amanda Nunes. Eye (14-6, 1 NC) is currently 4-5, 1 NC total in the UFC and is 3-0 since moving to the flyweight division. But, her three wins at 125lbs were very close decisions, and Shevchenko is a massive step up in competition from who Eye was fighting.
Start looking for the champ Shevchenko to start as a monster favorite here as she looks to receive her first name defense under her belt and start to construct her legacy in the game.
Katlyn Chookagian vs. Joanne Calderwood, UFC 238
Flyweight contenders Katlyn Chookagian and Joanne Calderwood are also set to meet at UFC 238. When there’s an accident to someone in the most important event, it’s possible either of those fighters could be called up to fight for the name.
Chookagian (11-2) is 4-2 overall from the UFC and many recently dropped a split decision to Eye at UFC 231. Calderwood (13-3) is 5-2 at the UFC and is coming from back-to-back wins over Ariane Lipski and Kalindra Faria since going upward to flyweight.
Moving up in weight looks like it was the best decision of Calderwood’s livelihood as she looks rejuvenated in her new weight class. Chookagian is a good fighter, but she lacks the finishing capability that Calderwood has. The betting line ought to be rather close, but I’d favor 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 is a perfect 4-0 at the UFC including a gigantic TKO win over Carla Esparza in her final outing that declared herself as a legitimate title contender at 115lbs. Ansaroff (10-5) is 4-2 in the UFC and is now riding a four-fight win series with a breakthrough decision win over Claudia Gadelha in her final struggle.
This is a tremendous matchup between two of the hottest strawweights around the planet, and the winner should be next in line to fight the victory of UFC 237’s Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade. Although I adore what Ansaroff was performing lately, you simply need to go for the upside and take Suarez in this fight. Like she always seems to be, I anticipate Suarez to be a big favorite to win this fight.
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