“I’ve been going through fertility treatments,” UFC star Katlyn Chookagian emotionally opens up on miscarriage halting fighting career

UFC Flyweight Katlyn Cerminara (nee Chookagian) last entered the octagon in October 2022. Now, she is to make her anticipated return at UFC 299 against Maycee Barber. While many attributed her long hiatus to lingering injuries, ‘Blonde Fighter’ has revealed tackling serious personal problems. As such, she opened up about having multiple miscarriages.

On UFC 299 media day, Katlyn Chookagian disclosed dealing with fertility issues for the first time in public. She detailed her experience of going through fertility treatment and how taxing it was on her physically and mentally. Here is what she said:

 For the past year, I've been going through fertility treatments. I went through three/four rounds of IVF and I had two miscarriages. It's been a tough year but I wanted to take a break from that, not just mentally but physically. Going through fertility is so hard, that I'm taking a fight to take a mental and physical break from fertility treatments. This is way-way easier than dealing with that. 

Katlyn Cerminara (via UFC 299 Media Day)

Further in the interview, she stated she was 170lbs after her second miscarriage, and the news almost broke her. As such, the flyweight star decided to shift her focus towards something positive and spoke to her manager about booking a fight. The former title challenger saw fighting as a way out of her dreading personal situation and a coping mechanism to reset her physically and mentally.

So, she concentrated on training and will return this weekend to face Maycee Barber. Her professional career was still shining despite Katlyn Chookagian suffering from her personal life concerns. She only recently put up a four-fight win streak before losing to Manon Fiorot. As such, she would look forward to getting back to winning ways at UFC 299.

Katlyn Cerminara on her reason to open up about fertility issues

While many people don’t come forward to openly discuss fertility issues, Katlyn Cernimara felt it was the right thing to do. She had gone through a rough year, facing two miscarriages and going through multiple IVF treatments. This emotionally took a toll on the UFC flyweight and physically and mentally drained her. As such, she decided to speak about it to support others who dealt with similar situations.

At first, Katlyn Cernimara was double-minded about whether to reveal her personal issues to the public or not. Speaking with her friends about the matter led others to open up about their own concerns. Here is what she said:

I’ve went back and forth, like, ‘Should I say something or should I just keep it private? But I do think that with my friends and me being open about it, there were so many people I’d tell about it and they’re like, ‘Oh, you know what? I’ve been doing that the past year. So if I can help anyone or make one person feel like, ‘Oh, OK, cool. Other people are going through this, too,’ then it’s worth it.

Katlyn Cermianra (via UFC 299 Media Day)

Amidst dealing with her personal life, Katlyn Cerminara returns to her professional life this weekend. She is facing Maycee Barber at UFC 299 in a three-round flyweight bout. Having never lost two fights in a row like Dustin Poirier, Cernimara would look forward to keeping that record intact. However, it wasn’t about winning or losing for her anymore. She just wanted to fight to relieve herself from the mental and physical stress of her personal life.

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