Despite winning a unanimous decision against Viviane Araujo at UFC 262, many believe Katlyn Chookagian’s win to be filled with controversy.
Slated for the main card, there were lots of eyeballs on the fight between Araujo and Chookagian. While the weight class isn’t the deepest, Katlyn Chookagian is on a 2-fight win streak now, and with one more win, the “Blonde Fighter” would be quite close to title territory. Amidst the fight, many from home saw something the broadcast team didn’t– and that was an alleged tap to one of Araujo’s submission attempts.
Following the opening round of action, the broadcast team acknowledged that there was not a tap in the first round. However, after the Pickswise Twitter account showed the angle of this exchange, some might believe that Katlyn Chookagian did tap. In the end, it’s your decision to make.
Since the officials and broadcasters have already shut it down, perhaps the next logical step for Araujo would be filing an appeal with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. However, Katlyn Chookagian is adamant that there was no submission and that she did not tap.
“What submission?” Katlyn Chookagian said to reporters at the post-fight press conference. “You have to have your hands locked to have the submission. She had a headlock because she doesn’t know her jiu-jitsu. Yeah, no (there was no tap). You have to have a submission to get the tap. Definitely not.”
Overall, it seems Katlyn Chookagian doesn’t believe any of what’s being proposed. As a long-time staple of the division, Chookagian is now on a two-fight win streak, and should this result stay intact, then she will be in line for another big fight in 2021. While at times, when Katlyn Chookagian is paired with high-tier competition she falters, perhaps with the steady evolutions she’s made on the feet, her well-roundedness could take her to another title opportunity down the road.
Did Katlyn Chookagian tap at UFC 262?