Knockdown Daily 1/16/22: Calvin Kattar Hands Giga Chikadze His First UFC Loss
Calvin Kattar's win over Giga Chikadze leads the MMA headlines for Sunday
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Welcome to the Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue will focus on results from the first UFC event of 2022.
News
Calvin Kattar Stops Momentum of Giga Chikadze In Five-Round Brutal Battle
Calvin Kattar handed Giga Chikadze his first UFC loss on Saturday night, getting on the winning side of an all-out war that ended in a clear unanimous decision result.
The fight headlined a show from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Kattar got the best of striking exchanges, causing Chikadze to consume lots of hard blows and constantly backtrack in the cage.
Kattar controlled the opening frame, making the best of a slip from Chikadze to score a takedown and control most of the round on the ground.
The featherweights got into a brawl in the second round. Kattar had the best of the exchanges, connecting with hard shots to a backing up and seemingly tired Chikadze.
Kattar kept pressing forward in the third round, landing with a high volume of straight punches to the head. Chikadze was able to explode forward with combinations that would land, but he continued to be overwhelmed by Kattar.
Damage showed on the faces of both fighters in the fourth round. While Kattar failed with many takedown attempts in the round, he continued to succeed with punches and close-range elbows.
The tired featherweights continued to land in the final round, with the damage due to the fight being much more visible in Chikadze’s face and his overall movement.
Chikadze entered the fight with the goal of extending his impressive run in the UFC. He had an impressive seven-fight winning streak before Saturday, including a previous main event victory against Edson Barboza.
The win was Kattar’s first appearance in nearly an entire year. In the first fight of UFC’s 2021 schedule, Kattar was on the losing side of a dominant performance from former UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway.
Kattar and Chikadze were given a “Fight of the Night” award, earning them both an extra $50,000.
Jake Collier, Viacheslav Borshchev Earn ‘Performance of the Night’ Bonuses
Main card fighters Jake Collier and Viacheslav Borshchev were given “Performance of the Night” bonuses after their respective wins on Saturday night. The bonuses earned them both $50,000 on top of what they had previously negotiated for their fights.
Collier had a quick win in the co-main event of the show, submitting heavyweight Chase Sherman in the third minute with a rear naked choke. This came after Collier scored a takedown and cut Sherman open with ground and pound strikes.
Borshchev won his UFC debut earlier in the night, stopping Dakota Bush within a round with strikes. It was a body shot that folded Bush in the first round, as Borshchev connected clean with a hook and put an end to the bout.
A full report for UFC on ESPN 32 can be read here.
Here are the quick results:
Preliminary Card (5:00PM EST / 2:00PM PST) (ESPN+ / TSN 5)
Bout 1: TJ Brown def. Charles Rosa via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Brian Kelleher def. Kevin Croom via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Court McGee def. Ramiz Brahimaj via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Jamie Pickett def. Joseph Holmes via Decision, Unanimous
Main Card (7:00PM EST / 4:00PM PST) (ESPN+ / TSN 5)
Bout 5: Bill Algeo def. Joanderson Brito via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Dakota Bush def. Viacheslav Borshchev via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:47)
Bout 7: Katlyn Chookagian def. Jennifer Maia via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Brandon Royval def. Rogerio Bontorin via Decision, Split
Bout 9: Jake Collier def. Chase Sherman via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:26)
Bout 10: Calvin Kattar def. Giga Chikadze via Decision, Unanimous
Veteran Clay Guida To Face Rising Claudio Puelles At April 23rd UFC Card
Experienced MMA fighter Clay Guida will return to action at UFC’s April 23rd event, facing Claudio Puelles in a lightweight bout. This fight was first confirmed by Fordewin MMA on Friday.
The fight joins a card that doesn’t have a confirmed location at the moment.
Guida, a UFC fighter of over a decade, was active last year with three fights. He finished his year with a submission win, stopping fellow veteran Leonardo Santos in the second round via rear naked choke.
The matchup provides a big challenge for Puelles while he slowly rises up the lightweight division. Puelles is now on a strong four-fight winning streak in the UFC that has been developing since 2018.
Puelles scored two wins in 2021, beating Jordan Leavitt via unanimous decision and submitting Chris Gruetzemacher in December.
Column
UFC On The Prelims: One Time For The Veterans
In this week’s version of the “On The Prelims,” we looked at the performances from Brian Kelleher and Court McGee on Saturday night. In Kelleher’s case, he had to deal with some sudden fight-week changes to prevail with a win. For McGee, we discussed his successful game plan.
The full article can be read here.
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