Giga Chikadze vs. Cub Swanson Slated For May 1 Fight Night Card

UFC veteran Cub Swanson will face rising star Giga Chikadze on May 1 in what should serve as an entertaining scrap for MMA fans of all levels.

As reported by adjasport Monday and since confirmed by multiple outlets, Cub Swanson and Giga Chikadze will be making their 2021 debuts to kick off the month of May at UFC Fight Night: Reyes vs. Prochazka. Swanson will serve as the most experienced test that Chikadze has experienced thus far in his MMA career.

Cub Swanson is a 17-year veteran of the sport who has been competing under the Zuffa umbrella for 13 of those years. After losing four consecutive fights between December 2017 and May 2019, it looked as though Swanson’s long-running UFC tenure could be terminated.

UFC Tampa results: Cub Swanson punishes Kron Gracie over three rounds to earn unanimous decision - MMA Fighting — Cub Swanson Lands on Kron Gracie. Credit: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Swanson’s UFC career very well may have been on the line when he entered the Octagon for his next fight against Kron Gracie, but he proved that he still has a place in the company after defeating Gracie via unanimous decision followed up by one of the best knockouts of the year over Daniel Pineda at UFC 256. With these two victories, the 37-year-old Swanson put the world on notice that he still has plenty of punch in him, and he hopes to extend a third consecutive reminder against former kickboxer Giga Chikadze.

UFC Vegas 13 video: Giga Chikadze blasts Jamey Simmons with devastating head kick to earn first-round knockout - MMA Fighting — Giga Chikadze Lands Big On Jamey Simmons. Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Giga Chikadze will enter this bout with a professional record of 12-2 and has yet to taste defeat in his UFC run, with a 5-0 promotional record. In his most recent performance, Dhikadze used his elite kickboxing skills to earn the first stoppage of his UFC career over Jamey Simmons and also earned Performance of the Night honors by doing so. He will now put those skills to use against a man in Cub Swanson who has seen just about every style of opposition thrown his way. A win for Chikadze will likely land him a spot in the UFC rankings and may very well do the same for Swanson, who is already familiar with that feeling.

With the addition of this featherweight scrap, the current lineup for the May 1 Fight Night card includes the following bouts:

Dominick Reyes vs. Jiri Prochazka

Giga Chikadze vs. Cub Swanson

Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Augosto Sakai

Krzysztof Jotko vs. Sean Strickland

Gabriel Benitez vs. Jonathan Pearce

Sam Hughes vs. Loma Lookboonmee

Damon Jackson vs. TJ Laramie

KB Bhullar vs. Andreas Michailidis

Poliana Botelho vs. Ji Yeon Kim

Felipe Colares vs. Journey Newson

Dean Barry vs. Mike Jackson