Giga Chikadze was on the sidelines for 18 months following the first loss of his octagon career, but he returned Saturday at UFC Fight Night 225 and got a crucial win over Alex Caceres.
Chikadze (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) rebounded from the first loss of his UFC career against Calvin Kattar in January 2022 and managed to outpoint Caceres (21-14 MMA, 16-12 UFC) for a unanimous decision victory in the featherweight main card bout at Singapore Indoor Stadium. The scores were 30-27 across the board.
The victory belongs to @Giga_Chikadze today! 🙌#UFCSingapore | Tune in live on @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/UcfbSOYj6v
— UFC (@ufc) August 26, 2023
The opening round was an all-striking affair. Caceres landed the best blow with a slick spinning backfist and added on with some good punches and kicks, but Chikadze got in a number of good licks of his own with his signature kicks and some stinging punches.
Neither fighter had a thought of a takedown in the second round, either, and that allowed some of the momentum to shift to Chikadze. He landed a number of hard punches and kicks throughout the frame. However, Caceres kept himself very much in it with a high output, even if not much of it seemed to hurt Chikadze.
With both fighters having a chance to second the fight in the final round, Caceres came out with plenty of urgency. It somewhat cost him, though, because Chikadze was able to land staggering shots. That didn’t deter Caceres from coming forward, but Chikadze displayed his much more kickboxing background and managed to secure the fight in his favor.
“It’s not easy to be without a job for one-and-a-half-years when you have two kids and a wife and a family,” Chikadze told Michael Bisping in his post-fight interview. “It definitely wasn’t easy, but as you guys can see I changed my style a little bit to make sure I win all the fights.”
WELCOME BACK, @GIGA_CHIKADZE! 🗣️ #UFCSingapore pic.twitter.com/hsPNwvaVrX
— UFC (@ufc) August 26, 2023
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 225 results include:
- Giga Chikadze def. Alex Caceres via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Rinya Nakamura def. Fernie Garcia via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
- Erin Blanchfield def. Taila Santos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Junior Tafa def. Parker Porter via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:24
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Lukasz Brzeski via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:01
- Garrett Armfield def. Toshiomi Kazama via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:16
- Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Chidi Njokuani via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:16
- Song Kenan def. Rolando Bedoya via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Billy Goff def. Yusaku Kinoshita via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:49
- JJ Aldrich def. Liang Na via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:49
- Seungwoo Choi def. Jarno Errens via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 225.
