Kattar brutalises Chikadze at UFC Vegas 46

A tactical masterclass from Calvin Kattar on Saturday night showed the world that he won’t be counted out of the featherweight title picture just yet. A fantastic performance showcasing intelligence, volume and aggression allowed the Boston native to dismantle the highly rated Giga Chikadze.

Going into Saturday night, it was safe to say a lot of people were concerned for Kattar. His last fight over a year ago against Max Holloway saw him get a serious beating, then he got matched up with the experienced and dangerous Georgian kickboxer Giga. The European man was undefeated in the UFC at 7-0, with his last three against Jamey Simmons, Cub Swanson and Edson Barboza all coming by way of KO.

What we saw was a near-perfect execution of Kattar’s game plan. We’ve heard countless times of the phrase ‘Crowd the kicker’, this fight was a prime example of this. Always keeping Giga on the backfoot and not allowing him the distance to unleash them devastating kicks was a key to victory.

Calvin’s boxing is his strongest area and he kept on popping that jab out all night, constantly just giving his opponent something to deal with would eventually combine to make Chikadze tired and less silky on the fight. We cannot forget them hellish elbows either, they cut and sliced Chikadze, the best of them being a perfectly timed spinning elbow which Giga somehow ate.

The first round was a tense affair, the first two minutes were predominantly Giga’s, starting fast, ripping into every shot he threw, ensuring Calvin of what he was up against. However, a slip from Chikadze allowed Kattar to pounce and initiate some grappling. Keeping the kickboxer down with grappling/wrestling was always going to be in the plan. The rest of the round was just Kattar controlling the fight on the ground, making the smart move to win the 1st.

The consistent pressure from the American naturally tired out Chikadze, who certainly was never used to being on the backfoot. His lack of experience going 5 rounds compared to his opponent was also a detrimental factor to Giga.

Calvin looked on a different level to his opponent, also in comparison to his last fight against Max Holloway. It’s almost as if the beating against Max transformed him and allowed him to fight that exact fight that he was bested at.

We were all made aware of Kattar’s toughness and heart last January, his ability to take damage above levels most wouldn’t. The ass-whopping Giga was handed showcased his durability and willingness to stick in too, considering that was his first five-round fight as well.

In terms of what’s next for both men, a fight against Brian Ortega or Yair Rodriguez would be a great chance to see just exactly where Calvin Kattar is at.

I think Giga needs to take some time off, he took a lot of damage there and recovery is the most important step next. It’ll give him the chance to work on a few things too, like being able to adapt to different fight situations, he looked unable to create openings when he was on the backfoot. A matchup against someone like Shane Burgos would be a great test, another durable fighter who has a great skill set and is willing to make it a dogfight to get what he wants.

All we can say is that the featherweight division is in a very intriguing situation as of now. With Max Holloway pulling out of his scheduled trilogy bout with the champ Volkanovski, The Korean Zombie has stepped in for the perfect opportunity at this point in his career. With Yair and Ortega both losing their last fights, it’s a struggle to look for names that stand out. Zabit has disappeared off the face of the earth, whilst Arnold Allen and Josh Emmet just quite there yet in my opinion.

The next post will be a look over the UFC 270 card which takes place this weekend in Anaheim, California.

Francis Ngannou vs Ciryl Gane and Brandon Moreno vs Deiveson Figueiredo 3, I cannot wait.