Did Katlyn Chookagian tap in her fight against Viviane Araújo at UFC 262?
Katlyn Chookagian defeated Viviane Araujo at UFC 262. The 32-year-old showed her crisp striking technique to put away the Brazilian via unanimous decision. However, in the second round of the fight, Araujo caught Chookagian in a guillotine choke, and it appeared that the latter might have tapped before trying to fight her way out of the choke.
You can watch the video of Chookagian's alleged tap below from two different angles:
For a moment, UFC commentators Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier were suspicious about Chookagian potentially giving up mid-fight. After watching the video footage, they concluded that Chookagian didn't tap.
Although the argument can very well go against Chookagian, the video footage does reflect that she was possibly trying to find her left hand in order to secure a lock while being on her back.
Chookagian then scrambled out of the guillotine choke, but Araujo did enough to score a full mount and look for a potential arm triangle. Still, 'Blonde Fighter' managed to get back to her feet and was able to dominate her Brazilian opponent in the third round.
Katlyn Chookagian could challenge Valentina Shevchenko for the title soon
Katlyn Chookagian's win over Viviane Araujo could see her become the new number-one contender in the women's flyweight division. Currently, Jessica Andrade sits at the top of the 125-pound weight class. However, Chookagian's win at UFC 262 and Andrade's loss to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 261 could see the Brazilian slump down the rankings.
Katlyn Chookagian fought Shevchenko at UFC 247 in February last year. 'Bullet' dominated the fight from the first round and finished 'Blonde Fighter' with a vicious TKO in the third round.
Chookagian will be hoping to earn a rematch against Shevchenko and try to upset the Kyrgyzstani fighter.