PARIS – Manon Fiorot had a strange shuffle of opponents for her upcoming fight, but she’s happy with the end result.
The rising UFC women’s flyweight contender was originally scheduled to take on former title challenger Katlyn Chookagian on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 209. However, Chookagian (18-4 MMA, 11-4 UFC) was forced to withdraw and was replaced by former UFC strawweight champ Jessica Andrade. Then, just a few weeks after that matchup was announced, Andrade pulled out due to injury, and Chookagian was back in.
Not long after the pair of switches, Fiorot (9-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) suffered an injury of her own, forcing the matchup against Chookagian to get pushed to UFC 280 on Oct. 22.
It’s been hectic, but Fiorot said she’s glad with how things turned out.
“There was a lot of back-and-forth, but I don’t really know the reasons why they changed opponents,” Fiorot told reporters during her guest appearance at the UFC Fight Night 209 media day. “I think Katlyn is a more interesting choice for me since she’s the No. 1 ranked. (But) it doesn’t matter. I’m always ready for who it is, so it’s fine by me.”
Fiorot respects what Chookagian has done in the division, but she’s not afraid to make her intentions clear. The Frenchwoman wants to stop Chookagian and make a statement at 125 pounds.
” My goal is to finish this fight,” Fiorot said. “I think the first round will be merely to study my opponent, and then I’ll push the pace the second and third rounds. We’ve established a game plan, and the plan is to finish this fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 280.
