UFC Fight Night: Chookagian vs. Maia betting odds, preview, and pick

Katlyn Chookagian and Jennifer Maia will face off in a rematch of their UFC 244 bout at UFC Fight Night on Saturday, Jan. 15.

Let's breakdown their grudge match, beginning with the latest betting odds.

Chookagian looks to repeat her UFC 244 win

Chookagian utilized her height and reach advantages as well as respectable activity to outwork Maia without much trouble in their first meeting at UFC 244. Seeing that the two fighters have fared exactly the same against similar competition since, it’s safe to say that not much has changed from two years ago.

If that is the case, then Chookagian should be feeling good about her chances here. Though she’s fallen short against the likes of Valentina Shevchenko and Jessica Andrade, she looked strong in her recent wins and has a two-fight win streak working in her favor.

Maia must stunt Chookagian’s activity

Maia was unable to decipher Chookagian’s game plan and was stifled by her work rate, only finding fleeting success at the bout’s endpoint. For every one good strike Maia landed, Chookagian doubled or tripled the return fire and kept her on the outside all night.

The path to victory for Maia is still the same, which is bypassing Chookagian’s reach and taking her down. That does mean that she’ll need to go on the offensive and show some backbone, which is not exactly what she did in her tepid win over Jessica Eye last July.

Chookagian will make it 2-0 over Maia

There hasn’t been much to suggest Maia has improved enough to even the score against Chookagian. If anything, she’ll perform better in spots, but her inability to stunt Chookagian’s volume and reach from the first fight should repeat itself on fight night.

Even when they did engage in close quarters, Chookagian dominated the action and showed she could take Maia’s power without missing a beat. As long as she stuffs the early takedown attempts and keeps her at the end of her long reach, it’s hard to see a different outcome here.

Expect Chookagian to beat Maia just like she did before. Maia might be able to score a takedown earlier in the night, but it won’t add up to a win on the cards. Chookagina will outwork her and win a clear decision.

MMA free pick: Chookagian