Rivalries: Giga Chikadze

Giga Chikadze still lurks just outside the Top 10 rankings in the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division.

“Ninja” will attempt to bounce back from his latest setback when he toes the line against David Onama in a UFC on ESPN 66 showcase this Saturday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Chikadze, 36, has won 10 of his past 12 bouts. However, he finds himself on the rebound following a three-round unanimous decision defeat to Tristar Gym standout Arnold Allen at UFC 304 on July 27.

As Chikadze puts the focus on his upcoming clash with Onama at 145 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Austin Springer

The American Top Team rep disposed of Chikadze with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their featherweight clash during Season 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series on June 19, 2018 at the UFC Training Center in Las Vegas. The end came 4:10 into Round 3. Springer ate a number of kicks on the way in but managed to neutralize his Georgian counterpart with a suffocating clinch and opportunistic takedowns. He countered a knee strike from Chikadze with a takedown in the third round, moved to mount and cut loose with ground-and-pound before transitioning to the back. Soon after, the fight-ending choke was in place. The setback snapped a five-fight winning streak for Chikadze and delayed his UFC debut by more than a year.

Cub Swanson

Chikadze took out the battle-tested World Extreme Cagefighting veteran with a body kick and punches in the first round of their UFC on ESPN 23 co-main event on May 1, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Referee Jason Herzog stepped in to wave it off 63 seconds into Round 1. A liver kick—Chikadze calls it the “Giga Kick”—dropped Swanson where he stood and set the stage for the stoppage. Operating in the shadows of the Dominick Reyes-Jiri Prochazka headliner, Chikadze pounced on his fallen prey and unleashed a quick burst of punches to ensure the job was done. It was the ninth first-round finish of his career.

Edson Barboza

Chikadze swept aside the former Ring of Combat champion with punches in the third round of their UFC on ESPN 30 headliner on Aug. 28, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Barboza bowed out 1:44 into Round 3. Visually, it appeared to be a dead heat through two rounds. Chikadze turned on the afterburners in the third, where a knee strike to his adversary’s chest touched off a one-man feeding frenzy. He dazed Barboza with a straight right, powered into top position and threatened his neck with anaconda and brabo chokes. The American Top Team rep freed himself from the attempted submissions, but as Barboza tried to stand in a still-compromised state, Chikadze cut loose with punches, battered him backward into the cage and prompted the stoppage.

Calvin Kattar

The New England Cartel cornerstone carved up Giga across five rounds and walked away with a clean-sweep unanimous decision in their UFC on ESPN 32 main event on Jan. 15, 2022 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 50-45, 50-45 and 50-44—all for Kattar, who rebounded from his one-sided drubbing against Max Holloway a year prior. Chikadze conceded a takedown and spent much of the first round pinned to the canvas. His situation only deteriorated from there. Kattar applied maximum pressure, forced the Georgian onto his back foot and called upon every weapon in his vast arsenal, from a surgical jab and front kicks to the body to occasional knees and sweeping elbow strikes at close range. Chikadze responded in spurts and looked like a viable threat from beginning to end, but he could match neither Kattar’s output nor his determination. The Massachusetts native emptied himself in the fifth round, where he slashed away at a battered and bloodied Chikadze with elbows from both sides. The Rafael Cordeiro protégé ultimately collapsed under the final barrage and might have been the victim of a finish had the bell not sounded.