Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are significant candidates for ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (UHECR) sources, supported by both theoretical and phenomenological motivations. In this context, AGN catalogs have been employed for quantitative comparisons between predictions and observations, where the UHECR flux is assumed to be proportional to the very-high-energy $\gamma$-ray flux of the objects. However, discrepancies arise in matching the energy spectrum and anisotropy data. This work proposes a possible solution to these inconsistencies. By using the observed $\gamma$-ray flux as a proxy for the UHECR flux, a beamed UHECR emission is implicitly assumed. We show that assuming isotropic UHECR emission and applying Doppler factor corrections to the observed $\gamma$-ray flux can reduce the discrepancies between the predictions derived from AGN catalog-based models.