UFC featherweight Giga Chikadze celebrated with a bottle of champagne after stopping Cub Swanson with a body kick knockout at UFC Vegas 25.

Chikadze had beaten five lower-ranked opponents in his first five fights in the Octagon to earn this high-profile matchup against a true veteran of the sport in Swanson. For Chikadze, it was a huge opportunity to beat one of the best featherweights of all time and show that he’s part of the new breed of 145lbers, and he did just that by winning the fight via first-round knockout. It was a phenomenal performance by Chikadze, who improved to a perfect 6-0 in the Octagon as he appears on the verge of title contention at 145lbs.

Taking to his social media following the fight, Chikadze shared a video of him popping a bottle of champagne in Las Vegas and celebrating the best victory of his career to date.

https://www.instagram.com/p/COW6ta2hRT-/

Chikadze has really shown some serious improvements in his overall MMA game ever since we first saw him on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018. At the time, Chikadze was still relatively green in MMA and he lost via submission to Austin Springer, a fighter who is not UFC caliber. But ever since then, Chikadze has really improved his game to the point where he is a top-15 fighter in the UFC featherweight division. With improved grappling defense to go along with his incredible striking skills, it’s clear Chikadze is an absolute stud in the UFC featherweight division. The win over Swanson is exactly what he needs in order to make the move up the 145lbs ladder. By beating a well-respected veteran in the impressive fashion that he did, it shows that Chikadze is ready for a big step up.

What do you think is next for Giga Chikadze after knocking out Cub Swanson at UFC Vegas 25?