Giga Chikadze says Alex Caceres won’t strike at UFC Fight Night 225: ‘I’m a different breed, and he knows it’

Giga Chikadze doubts Alex Caceres will stand and trade with him at UFC Singapore.

[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] doubts [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] will stand and trade with him at UFC on ESPN 225.

Chikadze (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) returns against Caceres (21-13 MMA, 16-11 UFC) in Saturday’s featured bout at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The event streams on ESPN+.

Caceres is coming off back-to-back bonuses, including a head-kick knockout of Julian Erosa. But despite “Bruce Leroy’s” usual willingness to strike, Chikadze sees him implementing a different game plan against him.

“I feel like I know his game plan, which I’m not going to talk about during the media and live, but as I said earlier, he’s not the guy who’s going to try and stand up with me,” Chikadze told reporters at UFC Fight Night 225 media day. “Of course there are many good strikers, and he fought many good strikers, and he is a striker. Very entertaining guy, very chaotic fighter, but I’m a different breed, and he knows it.”

Chikadze hasn’t competed since January 2022, when he saw his nine-fight winning streak snapped by Calvin Kattar. The Georgian fighter has struggled to get a ranked opponent to fight him, but Caceres called him out – and he plans on making him pay.

“For me, it’s a very important time to come back,” Chikadze said. “All my lights at the moment are on Alex. I have an opponent who’s been around for a long time, and he’s the first one from top 15 who called me out, and I take this sh*t personal always. It’s not just a game to me, and I’m coming here to shut his lights off.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 225.

UFC Fight Night 225 pre-event facts: Inside Max Holloway’s record-filled resume

The best facts about UFC Fight Night 225, where Max Holloway and Chan Sung Jung bring multiple records into their main event.

The UFC makes its fifth trip to Singapore on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 225, which takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium and streams on ESPN+.

Two of the most legendary featherweights in octagon history clash in a five-round main event. Former longtime champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (24-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) takes on [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (17-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC) in a potential retirement fight for “The Korean Zombie.”

For all the numbers behind both headliners, check out MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 225.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 24-30)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by a promotion from July 24-30.

UFC books Alex Caceres vs. Giga Chikadze for Singapore

Another UFC contender fight is on tap for Singapore as featherweights Alex Caceres and Giga Chikadze will square off.

Another contender fight is headed to the UFC’s return to Singapore.

In the featherweight division, [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] will take on [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]. The bout will take place Aug. 26 as part of the UFC Fight Night card at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang and stream on ESPN+.

Three people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Caceres (21-13 MMA, 16-11 UFC) will look to build off a winning streak that includes consecutive victories over Julian Erosa and Daniel Pineda. He is 7-1 in his most recent eight with his lone loss against Sodiq Yusuff.

Chikadze (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) has struggled to find opponents since a January 2022 loss to Calvin Kattar. Chikadze expressed frustration with repeated opponent pullouts but finally found a matchup with Caceres. Prior to the most recent loss, Chikadze was on a nine-fight winning streak that included victories over Cub Swanson and Edson Barboza, among others.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Singapore includes:

  • Max Holloway vs. Chan Sung Jung
  • Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann
  • Erin Blanchfield vs. Taila Santos
  • Alex Caceres vs. Giga Chikadze
  • Lukasz Brzeski vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
  • Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Chidi Njokuani
  • JJ Aldrich vs. Liang Na
  • Fernie Garcia vs. Rinya Nakamura
  • Billy Goff vs. Yusaku Kinoshita
  • Parker Porter vs. Justin Tafa
  • Rolando Bedoya vs. Kenan Song
  • Jarno Errens vs. Seung Woo Choi
  • Garrett Armfield vs. Toshiomi Kazama

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for the UFC Fight Night event Aug. 26 in Singapore.

MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for June: Middleweight title contenders go to war

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from June 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from June 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for June.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominees

Alex Caceres likes idea of Giga Chikadze next, but ultimate hope is Yair Rodriguez for UFC title

After a dozen years in the UFC, Alex Caceres continues to outdo himself as he moves up the featherweight ranks.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] doesn’t typically cave into the public desire for post-fight callouts. But as he maneuvers through the UFC rankings, he sees some viable paths to the top.

Following his UFC on ESPN 45 win, Caceres (21-13 MMA, 16-11 UFC) mentioned his ultimate goal of a title and the hope a championship fight would come against previous foe Yair Rodriguez.

Caceres, 34, reiterated that desire as he spoke to MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference – but he also mentioned a potential matchup he thinks could get him there.

“I know we almost had that Giga (Chikadze) fight fall through a couple times,” Caceres said. “That’s a fight that’s always fun to have. He’s a karate guy, so it’d be fun to fight him. Like I said two times before tonight, I want Rodriguez to win the title so that when I climb those rankings, I get to take it from him. That’s always a fun fight to look forward to because I did have a five-round fight with him down in Utah. He edged me out by a split decision, and it was very close. It was very close, too close for me to let it go.”

Prior to Saturday’s bout, Caceres sat at No. 15 in the UFC rankings. He took on unranked Daniel Pineda, whom he defeated. As he spoke more broadly about his fighting future, Caceres said he just wants to fight someone ranked next.

“Fighting ranked opponents from here on out would be the fastest route to get there, for sure,” Caceres said. “I don’t know how many fights lie ahead of me. I am 7-1 in my last eight outings. That has to count for something. There are people getting rankings off two or three fights, or they’re coming off a loss and getting rankings. I think it’s deserving of me to maybe fight some ranked opponents. Two or three should put me in contention for the title.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.

UFC on ESPN 45 post-event facts: Is Jim Miller’s record resume UFC Hall of Fame worthy?

Check out the facts and stats to come out of UFC on ESPN 45, where Jim Miller continued to stack historic figures on his resume.

The UFC opened a non-stop schedule of summer events on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 45, which took place at the promotion’s home base of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The main event saw [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) remain undefeated inside the octagon and take the next step as a flyweight contender when he edged [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (24-1 MMA, 7-4 UFC) by split decision.

There were a number of other noteworthy results on the card. For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC on ESPN 45.

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UFC on ESPN 45 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $18 million

UFC on ESPN 45 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 45 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $199,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC on ESPN 45 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card aired on ESPN following prelims streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 45 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Jesse Butler[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Karine Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ketlen Souza[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Daniel Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Johnny Munoz[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]John Castaneda[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Muin Gafurov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Muhammad Naimov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Elise Reed[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Luan Lacerda[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Maxim Grishin[/autotag]: $4,500

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $45,000 while title challengers get $45,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-45 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,414,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $18,003,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.

UFC on ESPN 45 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC on ESPN 45 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – UFC on ESPN 45 took place Saturday with 13 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 224 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.

UFC on ESPN 45: Alex Caceres vs. Daniel Pineda odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 45 odds and lines between Alex Caceres vs. Daniel Pineda with MMA picks, tips and predictions.

In a featherweight bout on the main card, Alex Caceres and Daniel Pineda meet Saturday at UFC on ESPN 45 — also known as UFC Vegas 74 — at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the UFC on ESPN 45: Caceres vs. Pineda odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.

The prelims are on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET, with the main card on ESPN/ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET.

Watch this card with ESPN+ by signing up here.

Caceres got back on track with a 1st-round KO/TKO of Julian Erosa in December after suffering a unanimous decision setback against Sodiq Yusuff in mid-March 2022. “Bruce Leeroy” is now 6-1 across his last 7 bouts, including 3 unanimous-decision wins, the KO/TKO victory and a pair of submission wins.

Pineda has had an interesting recent history. Since arriving at the UFC level, he has a pair of stoppage wins, a KO/TKO loss to Cub Swanson and a No Contest against Andre Fili. The title winner from Fury FC back in 2018, Pineda hasn’t gone the distance in any of his 4 UFC bouts.

UFC on ESPN 45: Caceres vs. Pineda odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:34 a.m. ET.

  • Fight result (2-way line): Pineda +145 (bet $100 to win $145) | Caceres -175 (bet $175 to win $100)
  • Over/Under: 1.5 rounds (Over -190 | Under +145)
  • Will the fight go the distance? (Yes +130 | No -175)

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UFC on ESPN 45: Caceres vs. Pineda picks and predictions

Records: Caceres (20-13-0) | Pineda (28-14-0)

Fight result (2-way line or moneyline)

CACERES (-175) on the 2-way line is the safe play, as the veteran takes on a relative UFC newcomer that’s had a roller coaster start to his career with the company.

The favorite has managed finishes in 3 of his past 5 fights, with a KO/TKO win and a pair of submission victories.

CACERES BY KO/TKO OR DQ (+250) on the 7-way Method of Victory line is worth a roll of the dice for a chance to multiply your initial wager by 2 1/2 times.

If you don’t want to declare a winner, but still want action on the fight, taking KO/TKO/DQ (+175) for the method of victory, regardless of who gets their hand raised, is also a solid wager.

Over/Under (O/U)

NO (-175): FIGHT TO GO THE DISTANCE? is a little on the steep side, but it’s worth a play. I believe Bruce Leeroy gets the knockout victory. In addition, Caceres knocked out Erosa in Round 1 last time out, and 2 of his 3 KO/TKO results at the UFC level came in the first 3-plus minutes.

As a result, I like UNDER 1.5 ROUND (+145) at plus money for a solid value.

Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis.

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and us on Facebook.

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