Introduction
Giga Chikadze (Georgian: გიგა ჭიკაძე; born 25 August 1988) is a Georgian professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Chikadze formerly competed in the Featherweight division for GLORY. As of 29 October 2024, he is #12 in the UFC featherweight rankings.
Background
Giga Chikadze was born on 25 August 1988 in Tbilisi. Between ages 4 and 5, he began to train in Gōjū-ryū Karate. As a child, he inspired to join after watching martial arts movies by Jet Li and Bruce Lee. His first introduction to MMA was watching the early UFC events (specifically UFC 1) on VHS tapes, he was very impressed with Royce Gracie with his capabilities of defeating opponents of larger size while wearing a keikogi.
Chikadze started competing in Kickboxing, moving to the Netherlands for training and in 2015 he joined GLORY, the world's largest kickboxing organization.
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.
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.
Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series
In mid-June, Chikadze would join UFC president Dana White's Dana White's Contender Series 10 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.
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.
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. 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.
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.
Chikadze, once again, would be scheduled to face Mike Davis on 16 May 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. Chikadze would win the fight by unanimous decision.
Chikadze was scheduled to face Alex Caceres on 29 August 2020 at UFC Fight Night 175. However, Chikadze withdrew from the bout due to tested positive for COVID-19 and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Kevin Croom.
Chikadze faced Omar Morales on 11 October 2020 at UFC Fight Night 179. He won the fight via unanimous decision despite knocking Morales down in the final round.
Chikadze faced promotional newcomer Jamey Simmons on 7 November 2020 at UFC on ESPN 17. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Chikadze faced Cub Swanson on 1 May 2021 at UFC on ESPN 23. He won the bout in the first round via technical knockout after catching Swanson with a kick to the liver. This win earned him the Performance of the Night bonus award.
Chikadze faced Edson Barboza on 28 August 2021 at UFC on ESPN 30. He won the back-and-forth fight via technical knockout in round three. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Chikadze faced Calvin Kattar in the main event on 15 January 2022 at UFC on ESPN 32. He lost the fight via unanimous decision after being knocked down and almost finished in the final seconds of the fight. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.
On 22 May 2022, it was announced that Chikadze will receive UFC 2022 Recipient of Forrest Griffin Community Award for his exceptional volunteer and charity work for his non-profit "Knockout Cancer Foundation" that assists individuals fighting cancer with financial support for medical bills.
Chikadze was scheduled to face Sodiq Yusuff on September 17, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 210. However, the week before the event, Chikadze withdrew due to injury and the bout was cancelled.
Chikadze faced Alex Caceres on August 26, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 225. He won the bout via unanimous decision.
Chikadze was scheduled to face Josh Emmett on December 16, 2023, at UFC 296. However, Chikadze withdrew due to an undisclosed injury, and was replaced by Bryce Mitchell.
Chikadze faced Arnold Allen on July 27, 2024, at UFC 304. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Personal life
Chikadze has stated that he went to college and graduated with a degree in Business Management.
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (Three times) vs. Jamey Simmons, Cub Swanson and Edson Barboza
- Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Calvin Kattar
- 2022 Forrest Griffin Community Award
- MMAjunkie.com
- 2020 Under the Radar Fighter of the Year
- 2021 Breakout Fighter of the Year
Mixed martial arts record
| 19 matches | 15 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 9 | 0 |
| By submission | 1 | 1 |
| By decision | 5 | 3 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 15–4 | Arnold Allen | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 304 | July 27, 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | Manchester, England | |
| Win | 15–3 | Alex Caceres | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie | August 26, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Kallang, Singapore | |
| Loss | 14–3 | Calvin Kattar | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Chikadze | January 15, 2022 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 14–2 | Edson Barboza | TKO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Chikadze | August 28, 2021 | 3 | 1:44 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 13–2 | Cub Swanson | TKO (body kick and punches) | UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka | May 1, 2021 | 1 | 1:03 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| 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 | Lincoln, 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)
| 38 wins, 10 losses, 0 draws | |||||||||
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Location | Method | Round | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-12-23 | Loss | Dylan Salvador | Glory of Heroes: Jinan – GOH 65 kg Championship Tournament, Semi-Finals | Jinan, China | Ex. R Decision (Unanimous) | 4 | 3:00 | ||
| 2017-07-14 | Loss | Kevin VanNostrand | Glory 43: New York – Featherweight Championship Tournament, Final | New York City, New York, US | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | ||
| For The Featherweight Tournament Finale. | |||||||||
| 2017-07-14 | Win | Aleksei Ulianov | Glory 43: New York – Featherweight Championship Tournament, Semi-Finals | New York City, New York, US | Decision (split) | 3 | 3:00 | ||
| 2017-01-20 | Win | Victor Pinto | Glory 37: Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California, US | KO (liver kick) | 1 | 2:03 | ||
| 2016-09-09 | Loss | Matthew Embree | Glory 33: New Jersey – Featherweight Contender Tournament, Final | Trenton, New Jersey, US | TKO (punch) | 2 | 1:28 | ||
| For The Featherweight Contender Tournament Finale. | |||||||||
| 2016-09-09 | Win | Serhiy Adamchuk | Glory 33: New Jersey – Featherweight Contender Tournament, Semi-Finals | Trenton, New Jersey, US | Decision (Split) | 3 | 3:00 | ||
| 2016-07-22 | Win | Chris Mauceri | Glory 32: Virginia | Norfolk, Virginia, US | KO (liver kick) | 1 | 2:20 | ||
| 2016-02-26 | Win | Kevin VanNostrand | Glory 27: Chicago | Hoffman Estates, Illinois, US | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | ||
| 2015-08-07 | Loss | Anvar Boynazarov | Glory 23: Las Vegas | Las Vegas, Nevada, US | Decision (split) | 3 | 3:00 | ||
| 2015-05-08 | Win | Ken Tran | Glory 21: San Diego | San Diego, California, US | KO | 3 | 2:19 | ||
| 2014-10-04 | Win | Armen Zakyan | Fight Fans | KO (Head kick) | 2 | 0:35 | |||
| 2014-05-02 | Win | Michael Wayne | Sensational Knockouts | Netherlands | KO | 3:00 | |||
| 2014-03-17 | Win | Illia French | Netherlands | KO | 3:00 | ||||
| 2014-02-08 | Loss | Christian Baya | Fight Fans VIII | Netherlands | Decision | 3 | 3:00 | ||
| 2014-01-12 | Loss | Tayfun Özcan | Enfusion Live 12 | Alkmaar, Netherlands | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | ||
| 2013-10-12 | Loss | Ashkan Gohar | Thai Boxing Gala | Emmen, Netherlands | TKO (Doctor stoppage) | 1 | |||
| 2013-02-03 | Loss | Abraham Roqueñi | Street Culture Fight Night 2 | Tenerife, Spain | KO (Back kick) | 1 | |||
| 2012-12-28 | Win | Anthony Kane | Soema Na Basi | Paramaribo, Suriname | Decision | 3 | 3:00 | ||
| 2012-12-01 | Win | Hicham Boubkari | Decision | 3 | 3:00 | ||||
| 2012-05-27 | Win | Otman Allach | Muay Thai event Slamm 7 | Stedenwijk Almere | Decision | 3 | 3:00 | ||
| 2012-03-06 | Loss | Shkodran Veseli | WFC Challengers 3 | Vienna, Austria | KO (Punches) | 2 | |||
| 2011-05-21 | Win | Evgeniy Kurovskoy | Fightclub presents: It's Showtime 2011 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | ||
| 2010 | Win | Alex Garcia | KO | ||||||
| 2010 | Win | Luka | TKO(body shot) | 3:00 | |||||
| 2011-04-10 | Win | Nordin Kassrioui | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | 1 | |||||
| 2009-12-19 | Loss | Shemsi Beqiri | WFC Fight Night | Zürich, Switzerland | Decision | 5 | 3:00 | ||
| For the WFC World Middleweight (-72.5 kg/160 lb) Muay Thai Championship. | |||||||||
| 2008 | Win |  Domino Ross | KO (Punch) | ||||||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes | |||||||||