The UFC’s female flyweight division crowned its second-ever champion late last year when Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231.

And after a longer than she would have preferred on the road to her title shot, she now looks to be an active fighting champion.

Also taking place at UFC 231 was a flyweight bout between the top contenders Katlyn Chookagian and Jessica “Evil” Eye. In a very close and competitive bout, it would be Eye that picked up the split decision victory to extend her streak to three straight.

After the win, UFC President Dana White would declare that Eye was indeed the next contender for the new champion, Shevchenko. It now just comes down to when the fight may happen.

According to Shevchenko’s manager Roger Allen (via MMAjunkie), the champ would like to fight sooner rather than later… No matter the opponent. Meaning a card like UFC 236 in April would hopefully be a likely option.

However, for Eye, this may not work out as she recently called for the fight to be made for UFC 238 in Chicago, Illinois on June 8. Surely the reason for that timeframe would be due to Eye having had to deal with some teeth issues recently along with her departure from her longtime gym of Strong Style in Cleveland, Ohio after a falling out with one of her coaches.

Allen even shared that the UFC actually tried to book the Shevchenko vs Eye bout as soon as UFC Prague which takes place next Saturday on ESPN+. Though due to Eye’s issue with her teeth, she declined.

As for UFC 236 on April 13, the event has still yet to have its location be announced along with any fights. Stay tuned to BJPenn.com as more details will surely emerge in the coming days and weeks.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com 2/14/2019