Giga Chikadze
Giga Chikadze (born August 25, 1988) is a Georgian mixed martial artist and former kickboxer who has competed in the featherweight division of GLORY and who currently competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Giga Chikadze | |
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Giga Chikadze post fight interview at UFC Fight Night 160 in Copenhagen | |
Born | Tbilisi, Georgian SSR | August 25, 1988
Nickname(s) | NINJA |
Nationality | Georgian |
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Weight | 145.5 lb (66.0 kg; 10.39 st) |
Division | Featherweight (Kickboxing)[1] Featherweight (MMA) |
Reach | 74 in (190 cm)[2] |
Style | Goju-ryu Karate, Kickboxing |
Fighting out of | Tbilisi, Georgia |
Team | Kings MMA |
Rank | Third degree dan black belt in Goju-ryu Karate[3] |
Kickboxing record | |
Total | 44 |
Wins | 38 |
By knockout | 22 |
Losses | 6 |
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 14 |
Wins | 12 |
By knockout | 7 |
By submission | 1 |
By decision | 4 |
Losses | 2 |
By submission | 1 |
By decision | 1 |
Other information | |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog |
Background
Giga Chikadze was born on August 25, 1988 in Tbilisi. Between ages 4 and 5, he began to train in martial arts.[3]
Mixed martial arts career
World Series of Fighting
Chikadze made his mixed martial arts debut as a lightweight in the WSOF, facing Xtreme Couture fighter Gil Guardado. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[4]
Gladiator Challenge
Chikadze would join a promotion known as the Gladiator Challenge, and would enjoy a five-fight win streak in which all fights were ended via first round knockout.[2]
Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series
In mid-June, Chikadze would join UFC president Dana White's Contender Series in Las Vegas, Nevada to face former Ultimate Fighter contestant Austin Springer in a featherweight bout. Chikadze would receive his second professional loss in his MMA career after submitting to a rear-naked choke in the third round.[5]
Return to the Gladiator Challenge
After losing to Springer, Chikadze would return to the lightweight division of the Gladiator Challenge, earning a quick submission victory and a swift TKO after that.[2]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Giga Chikadze would sign a four-fight contract with the UFC and would be scheduled to make his UFC debut against fellow Contender Series fighter Mike Davis at UFC Fight Night 160 in Copenhagen, Denmark. However, Davis would pull out of the fight due to health issues and would be replaced by Brandon Davis in a short-notice bout.[6] After three rounds passed, the fight would be declared a split draw, but due to a scoring error made by one of the judges of the bout, the outcome would be corrected to a split decision victory for Chikadze.[7]
Chikadze would make his next UFC appearance on the preliminary card of UFC 248 against featherweight Jamall Emmers. Chikadze would earn a razor-thin split decision victory over Emmers after the bout had ended.[8]
Chikadze, once again, would be scheduled to face Mike Davis on May 16, 2020 at UFC on ESPN 8. However, Davis would pull out of the bout due to a weight cut-related illness and would be replaced by promotional newcomer Irwin Rivera.[9] Chikadze would win the fight by unanimous decision.[10]
Chikadze was scheduled to face Alex Caceres on August 29, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 175.[11] However, Chikadze withdrew from the bout due to tested positive for COVID-19[12] and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Kevin Croom.[13]
Chikadze faced Omar Morales on October 11, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 179.[14] He won the fight fight via unanimous decision.
Chikadze faced promotional newcomer Jamey Simmons on November 7, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira.[15] He won the fight via technical knockout in round one.[16] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.[17]
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Jamey Simmons[17]
- MMAjunkie.com
- 2020 Under the Radar Fighter of the Year[18]
Personal life
Chikadze has stated that he went to college and graduated with a degree in Business Management.[3]
Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown | ||
14 matches | 12 wins | 2 losses |
By knockout | 7 | 0 |
By submission | 1 | 1 |
By decision | 4 | 1 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 12–2 | Jamey Simmons | TKO (head kick and punches) | UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira | November 7, 2020 | 1 | 3:51 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
Win | 11–2 | Omar Morales | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen | October 11, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
Win | 10–2 | Irwin Rivera | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Harris | May 16, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | |
Win | 9–2 | Jamall Emmers | Decision (split) | UFC 248 | March 7, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 8–2 | Brandon Davis | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier | September 28, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Copenhagen, Denmark | |
Win | 7–2 | Damien Manzanares | TKO (submission to punches) | Gladiator Challenge: MMA World Championships | March 23, 2019 | 1 | 0:45 | Whitney, California, United States | |
Win | 6–2 | C.J. Baines | Submission (armbar) | Gladiator Challenge: Summer Showdown | August 11, 2018 | 1 | 0:12 | Rancho Mirage, California, United States | Lightweight bout. |
Loss | 5–2 | Austin Springer | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Dana White's Contender Series 10 | June 19, 2018 | 3 | 4:10 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Featherweight debut. |
Win | 5–1 | Kevin Ceron | TKO (punch) | Gladiator Challenge: MMA Fighting Championship | April 21, 2018 | 1 | 2:37 | Rancho Mirage, California, United States | |
Win | 4–1 | Kevin Gratts | KO (punch) | Gladiator Challenge: Season's Beatings | December 16, 2017 | 1 | 1:17 | Rancho Mirage, California, United States | |
Win | 3–1 | Julian Hernandez | TKO (punch) | Gladiator Challenge: Summer Feud | June 10, 2017 | 1 | 0:49 | Rancho Mirage, California, United States | |
Win | 2–1 | Anthony Ross | TKO (punch) | Gladiator Challenge: Absolute Beat Down | March 25, 2017 | 1 | 0:10 | San Jacinto, California, United States | |
Win | 1–1 | Joe Bear | TKO (retirement) | Gladiator Challenge: Season's Beatings | December 17, 2016 | 1 | 1:50 | San Jacinto, California, United States | |
Loss | 0–1 | Gil Guardado | Decision (unanimous) | WSOF 26 | December 18, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Lightweight debut. |
Kickboxing record (Incomplete)
Kickboxing record (Incomplete) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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38 wins, 6 losses, 0 draws
Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes |
References
- "Giga Chikadze". GLORY. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- "Giga Chikadze". Tapology. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- "Giga Chikadze | UFC". UFC.com. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- Danny Segura (2015-12-18). "WSOF 26 Results: Palmer vs. Almeida". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- Alexander Lee (2018-06-23). "UFC Copenhagen results: Austin Springer on the outside looking in after not receiving Contender Series contract". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- Eddie Mercado (2019-09-18). "Former GLORY kickboxer Giga Chikadze talks UFC debut against Brandon Davis". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- Alexander Lee (2019-09-28). "UFC Copenhagen results: Giga Chikadze sees draw changed to win after scoring gaffe corrected". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- Shawn Bitter (2020-03-07). "UFC 248 Results: Giga Chikadze Edges Out Jamall Emmers". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- Jay Pettry (2020-05-15). "Irwin Rivera replaces Mike Davis Against Giga Chikadze at UFC Fight Night 172". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- MMA Junkie Staff (2020-05-16). "Giga Chikadze def. Irwin Rivera at UFC on ESPN 8: Best photos". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- DNA, MMA (2020-07-17). ""Bruce Leeroy" treft Giga Chikadze tijdens UFC evenement op 8 augustus". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
- Lee, Alexander K. (2020-08-28). "Giga Chikadze withdrawal from UFC Vegas 8 was due to positive COVID-19 test". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
- Redatie (2020-08-26). "Alex Caceres has new opponent in Kevin Croom" (in Dutch). mmadna.com. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
- Staff (2020-09-02). "Omar Morales vs. Giga Chikadze added to UFC event on October 10". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-09-02. (in Dutch)
- Alexander K. Lee and Mike Heck (2020-11-02). "Giga Chikadze vs. Jamey Simmons added to UFC Vegas 13". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
- Doherty, Dan (2020-11-07). "UFC Vegas 13 Results: Giga Chikadze Head Kicks Debuting Jamey Simmons". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
- Hiergesell, Dan (2020-11-08). "UFC Vegas 13 Bonuses! 'King Kong' Banks $50K For Insane Forearm Submission". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
- Danny Segura (January 7, 2021). "MMA Junkie's 2020 'Under the Radar Fighter of the Year': Giga Chikadze a rising force at 145". MMAjunkie.com.
- Sherdog.com. "Giga Chikadze MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- GLORY Kickboxing (Sep 15, 2017). "FULL MATCH - Giga Chikadze vs. Kevin Vannostrand - Tournament Finals: GLORY 43 New York". Retrieved 24 May 2020 – via YouTube.
- GLORY Kickboxing (Dec 23, 2016). "GLORY 33 New Jersey: Serhiy Adamchuk vs. Giga Chikadze (Tournament Semi-Finals)". Retrieved 24 May 2020 – via YouTube.