Tag: Giga Chikadze

UFC Fight Night 225 post-event facts: Max Holloway sets record with KO of ‘The Korean Zombie’

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 225, which saw Max Holloway add to his legendary resume with a highlight knockout win.

UFC Fight Night 225 took place Saturday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore and saw seven of 13 fights end in a stoppage.

None of those finishes were more memorable than the main event, where former champ [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (25-7 MMA, 21-7 UFC) lived up to expectations when he scored a brutal third-round knockout of [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (17-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC) to send “The Korean Zombie” into retirement in the featherweight bout.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 225.

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UFC Fight Night 225 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Max Holloway among three with top non-title money

UFC Fight Night 225 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 225 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $196,000.

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 Fight Night 225 took place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 225 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Fernie Garcia[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Taila Santos[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Parker Porter[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Lukasz Brzeski[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Garrett Armfield[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Toshiomi Kazama[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Chidi Njokuani[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Song Kenan[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rolando Bedoya[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Billy Goff[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Yusaku Kinoshita[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]JJ Aldrich[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Na Liang[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jarno Errens[/autotag]: $4,000

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 2251 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 $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $5,735,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $20,324,500

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

Giga Chikadze calls out Yair Rodriguez for UFC 296 so he can fight on his first pay-per-view

Giga Chikadze wants to make his pay-per-view debut against a former interim champion.

[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] wants to make his pay-per-view debut against a former interim champion.

Chikadze (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) returned to the win column on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 225 main card when he defeated Alex Caceres (21-14 MMA, 16-12 UFC) at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

Chikadze rebounded from the first loss of his UFC career against Calvin Kattar. But prior to that, he was on a nine-fight winning streak, and is now eyeing a showdown with former interim featherweight champ [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) at UFC 296 Dec. 16 in Las Vegas.

“I want to fight in pay-per-view card in December,” Chikadze said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “I’ve never fought on a pay-per-view card, and I know it’s going to be a huge show. I want to be there and I want to compete against ‘El Pantera’ Yair Rodriguez.”

The Georgian fighter returned after a 18-month layoff. An active fighter throughout his UFC career, the time away was an unfamiliar feeling for Chikadze.

“It feels so great. I can’t even explain,” Chikadze said. “It’s been a pretty long time, and I felt like I was without a job. Finally I got my dream job back, and I haven’t been so happy for a long time. So finally, we’re back baby … It’s been 15 minutes, and I feel like every second I looked great, and I’m pretty happy after one-and-a-half year layoff with my performance.”

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

UFC Fight Night 225 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC Fight Night 225 in Singapore.

UFC Fight Night 225 took place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

In the main event, former featherweight champion Max Holloway (25-7 MMA, 21-7 UFC) takes on “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung (17-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC). In the co-feature, former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith (37-18 MMA, 12-8 UFC) meets Ryan Spann (21-9 MMA, 7-4 UFC) in a rematch.

Enjoy the fights, everyone.

UFC Fight Night 225 results: Giga Chikadze outpoints Alex Caceres for decision after 18-month layoff

Giga Chikadze returned from an 18-month layoff at UFC Fight Night 225 and got a crucial win over Alex Caceres.

[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] 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 [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag].

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 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.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 225 results include:

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

UFC Fight Night 225: Giga Chikadze vs. Alex Caceres odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 225 odds between Giga Chikadze vs. Alex Caceres with MMA picks and predictions.

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In a 3-round featherweight bout on the main card, Giga Chikadze and Alex Caceres meet at UFC Fight Night 225 — also known as UFC Singapore — at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, on Saturday. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the UFC Fight Night 225: Chikadze vs. Caceres odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.

Records: Chikadze (14-3-0) | Caceres (21-13-0)

The prelims can be viewed on ESPN+ at 5 a.m. ET, while the main card starts at 8 a.m. ET on ESPN+.

Chikadze suffered his first loss in 8 UFC fights last time out, falling to Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision in the main event of a fight night in mid-January 2022. He entered that bout with 3 consecutive KO/TKO wins, including a 3rd-round knockout of Edson Barboza in August 2021.

Caceres, a.k.a. “Bruce Leeroy”, has picked up wins in his past 2 bouts. He recorded a unanimous-decision victory over Daniel Pineda last time out in early June and dropped Julian Erosa in the 1st round in Dec. 2022, washing off the stink of a unanimous-decision loss to Sodiq Yusuff in mid-March 2022.

Chikadze holds a slight half-inch reach advantage, while Caceres owns a 4.16-to-4.05 significant strikes landed per minute edge. Caceres is also much more accurate with his strikes, landing 55.42% to just 43.96% for the favorite.

Caceres is also well ahead in the takedown categories, holding a 0.59-to-0.26 takedown average lead, while his takedown average percentage is 68.42% to just 33.33% for the Georgian. Bruce Leeroy also has a 0.73 submission average, while Chikadze comes in at 0.26.

Watch  this card with ESPN+ by signing up here.

UFC Fight Night 225: Chikadze vs. Caceres odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 6:08 a.m. ET.

  • Fight result (2-way line): Chikadze -250 (bet $250 to win $100) | Caceres +200 (bet $100 to win $200)
  • Over/Under: 2.5 rounds (Over -210 | Under +160)
  • Will the fight go the distance? (Yes -175 | No +130)

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UFC Fight Night 225: Chikadze vs. Caceres picks and predictions

Fight result (2-way line or moneyline)

CACERES (+200) is a tremendous value for the opportunity to double up with a victory.

Chikadze is an amazing competitor but he’s in for a difficult night against the very energetic and motivated Caceres. The challenger lands more strikes per minute, is much more accurate with said strikes and is slightly better in the ground game.

While the Georgian Chikadze does everything well and is more of an orthodox fighter, Caceres is a ball of energy and a little wild — but that also could help to catch the eye of the judges. As long as Caceres can weather an early storm and can get plenty of takedowns, I think he does enough to wow the judges in his favor.

METHOD OF VICTORY – 7-WAY: CACERES BY DECISION/TECHNICAL DECISION (+450) is a huge value play for a chance to multiply up by 4 1/2 times, too.

Over/Under (O/U)

YES (-175): WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE? is a little on the expensive side, but not a bad play if you want some action and do not want to declare a winner in the bout.

This play comes with risk, as Chikadze has 3 stoppages in the past 4 bouts, although 5 of his 8 fights at the UFC have resulted in decisions.

As far as Caceres is concerned, he has 3 decisions in the past 5 bouts and 10 across his previous 16 outings.

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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Alex Caceres doesn’t view Giga Chikadze as biggest fight: ‘Rankings are kind of fickle’

For Alex Caceres, Giga Chikadze is just another fight at UFC Singapore.

For [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag], [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] is just another fight.

Caceres (21-13 MMA, 16-11 UFC) meets Chikadze (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 225 featured bout at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The event streams on ESPN+.

“Every fight is always the biggest test of my life,” Caceres told reporters at UFC Fight Night 225 media day. “There is no fight that is less or more than another. I don’t look at it as a progression. I look at it as a doing or just an action that I’m performing in order to see where I’m at in the standings at the moment of time, not anything to do with the future or past.”

Beating Chikadze would give Caceres an opportunity to enter the top 10 featherweight rankings, but he’s not paying too much mind to the standings.

“I feel like rankings are kind of fickle,” Caceres said. “Some people are ranked above their actual station, and I’m here to prove it.”

Caceres’ carefree mentality has helped him go from losing five of seven bouts, to now winning seven of his past eight.

“I took the fight on shorter notice than I would usually take the fight. It’s just I don’t care,” Caceres said. “Let me fight. Let me do the thing that I love to do the most in life. So, I do understand that winning this fight and beating people at higher rankings does push me further and closer to a title shot, but once again, I’m here to prove how good I am to myself and has nothing to do with the accolades and treasures that I can possess in achieving such rankings.”

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

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.