Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade’s flyweight debut is in the works.
The promotion is eying a 125-pound fight that would pair Andrade (20-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC) against former women’s flyweight title challenger Katlyn Chookagian.
No location has been announced for the event at this time. However, with the UFC not applying for October licensure in Nevada prior to Oct. 31, the event is expected to take place on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
Two people with knowledge of the situation recently informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an announcement.
Various reports earlier this year had stated Andrade would likely face Jessica Eye at the Oct. 17 event. However, according to sources, the fight was never finalized because Eye is dealing with injuries.
Andrade moves to flyweight having most recently competed against Rose Namajunas in July at UFC 251 – in a rematch of their UFC 237 bout from May 2019. Unlike the first fight, Namajunas defeated Andrade by split decision. Prior to that loss, Andrade was dethroned by Zhang Weili via a 42-second TKO to snap a four-fight winning streak.
Chookagian (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is riding high from a unanimous decision win against Antonina Shevchenko in late May. The victory punched Chookagian’s ticket back into the win column after losing to champion Valentina Shevchenko by TKO in February at UFC 247.
With the addition, the Oct. 17 lineup includes:
- Chan Sung Jung vs. Brian Ortega
- Jessica Andrade vs. Katlyn Chookagian
- Modestas Bukauskas vs. Jimmy Crute
- Muslim Salikhov vs. Claudio Silva
- Renato Moicano vs. Magomed Mustafaev
- Poliana Botelho vs. Gillian Robertson
- Jun Yong Park vs. John Phillips
