HOUSTON – Dominick Reyes and Katlyn Chookagian will be in similar positions on Saturday night.
Both fighters enter UFC 247 as sizable underdogs and both are going against dominant champions. Reyes (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) takes on UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones in the main event, after Chookagian (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) contends against UFC flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko in the co-main event.
While the oddsmakers may not have much faith in Reyes and Chookagian, the contenders have expressed their self-belief in every pre-fight interview thus far. They both think an upset is in the cards, even if the fans don’t.
But what if the unthinkable happens, and both dominant champions go down to defeat? Will the challengers give the champions an immediate rematch? According to the challengers, Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) and Shevchenko (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) deserve it, given their stature in the sport.
“He definitely deserves a rematch after I beat him,” Reyes told MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s UFC 247 blue corner athlete panel.
Chookagian agreed, telling MMA Junkie “absolutely, I think any time there’s a dominant champ and they lose, I think they deserve that. So yeah, I’ll give Valentina a rematch.”
UFC 247 takes place Saturday at Toyota Center in Houston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
