The UFC has officially announced its upcoming event in The Windy City. UFC 238 takes place June 8 at United Center in Chicago, Illinois, and the first three bouts for the card have been revealed, including the women’s flyweight title fight. My thoughts on the new bouts — all women’s fights — are below.
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Eye, UFC 238
UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will make her first title defense when she takes on Jessica Eye at UFC 238. Though not official, it’s likely this bout will serve as the co-main event 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’s 2-0 as a flyweight in the UFC, and her only two losses in the Octagon came against double champ Amanda Nunes. Eye (14-6, 1 NC) is 4-5, 1 NC overall in the UFC and is 3-0 since moving down to the flyweight division. However, her three wins at 125lbs were all very close decisions, and Shevchenko is a massive step up in competition from who Eye has been fighting.
Look for the champ Shevchenko to open as a monster favorite here as she looks to get her first title defense under her belt and start to build her legacy in the sport.
Katlyn Chookagian vs. Joanne Calderwood, UFC 238
Flyweight contenders Katlyn Chookagian and Joanne Calderwood are also set to meet at UFC 238. If there’s an injury to someone in the main event, it’s possible either of these fighters could be called up to fight for the title.
Chookagian (11-2) is 4-2 overall in the UFC and most recently dropped a split decision to Eye at UFC 231. Calderwood (13-3) is 5-2 in the UFC and is coming off of back-to-back wins over Ariane Lipski and Kalindra Faria since moving up to flyweight.
Moving up in weight looks like it was the best decision of Calderwood’s career as she looks rejuvenated at her new weight class. Chookagian is a decent fighter, but she lacks the finishing ability that Calderwood has. The betting line should be fairly 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 at UFC 238 with a potential title shot on the line.
Suarez (7-0) won The Ultimate Fighter 23 and is a perfect 4-0 in the UFC including a massive TKO win over Carla Esparza in her last outing that announced herself as a legitimate title contender at 115lbs. Ansaroff (10-5) is 4-2 in the UFC and is currently riding a four-fight win streak with a breakthrough decision win over Claudia Gadelha in her last fight.
This is a tremendous matchup between two of the hottest strawweights on 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 love what Ansaroff has been doing lately, you just have to go with the upside and take Suarez in this fight. Like she always seems to be, I expect Suarez to be a big favorite to win this fight.
