Main Event: Calvin Kattar vs Giga Chikadze
A year ago, Calvin Kattar was on the receiving end of a tough loss to Max Holloway. Saturday in Las Vegas, Kattar turned it all around in the UFC Fight Night main event as he won a hard-fought, but dominant, five-round unanimous decision over fellow featherweight contender Giga Chikadze.
Scores were 50-45, 50-45 and 50-44 for the No.5-ranked Kattar, now 23-5. The No.8-ranked Chikadze falls to 14-3.
Chikadze was throwing hard with his kicks and punches from the start, and as soon as he landed, he used his movement to keep Kattar from getting his own shots off. But in the second minute, a slip by Chikadze on a missed kick led to a Kattar takedown, and the New Englander had his chance to get to work. Chikadze briefly rolled into top position, but Kattar didn’t allow him much daylight other than that as he worked for a submission.
Chikadze’s punches and kicks continued landing with thudding regularity to the body and head in round two, but Kattar was unmoved by the blows, and he kept pressuring his foe while landing his own shots, putting a different look on the fight as the round progressed. Elbows by Kattar stunned Chikadze briefly in the final minute, and a takedown punctuated a round to remember.