The first card of 2022 went down on Saturday as top-10 featherweights in Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze headlined UFC Vegas 46.
Kattar entered the fight having taken a full year off after his beatdown loss to Max Holloway last January, a setback which snapped his two-fight winning streak. Chikadze, meanwhile, was undefeated in the UFC and coming off a TKO win over Edson Barboza in his first UFC main event. He also picked up a TKO win over Cub Swanson in 2021 which put him on the map as a legit featherweight contender.
In the end, it was Kattar pulling off the upset as he beat Chikadze by decision, and won all five rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. Now, after the event, here is what I think should be next for Kattar and Chikadze.
Calvin Kattar
Calvin Kattar reminded everyone on Saturday he still is a top featherweight and could fight for UFC gold one day. After his loss to Holloway, many pundits wrote him off but he quieted all the doubters on Saturday night.
Kattar fought a perfect fight as he was able to get takedowns when he needed to and even outstruck Chikadze who was claiming to be the best striker at featherweight. It was a great performance from the Massachusetts native that sets him up for a big fight next time out.
Although Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez both make sense, a main event scrap against Josh Emmett in the summer should be next as the winner would get the next title shot. Both men are coming off big wins and neither has fought for UFC gold which puts the winner in a great spot to fight for the title.
Giga Chikadze
Giga Chikadze had his momentum slowed down a ton by his loss to Calvin Kattar at UFC Vegas 46, but he still remains a top-10 featherweight.
Chikadze had a ton of hype entering the fight and many thought he’d get through Kattar and would fight for UFC gold next time out. However, Kattar proved to be a step ahead of him and now the Georgian will be back to the drawing board.
Chikadze will likely return sometime in the summer or fall and when he does, a three-round fight against Dan Ige makes sense. Both men suffered main event losses to Calvin Kattar and both need a win to bounce back. It’s also a very fun fight on paper that can be a welcomed addition to any pay-per-view main card.
What do you think should be next for Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze?