Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
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.
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:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for the UFC Fight Night event Aug. 26 in Singapore.
UFC featherweight Giga Chikadze is growing tired of waiting for his next assignment.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] is growing tired of waiting for his next assignment.
UFC featherweight contender Chikadze (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) has not seen action since a unanimous decision loss to Calvin Kattar at UFC on ESPN 32 in January 2022. He was sidelined for four months with injuries that he said required five surgeries to fix, but has been ready to compete for well over a year.
Chikadze said he’s been lined up for fights against Sodiq Yusuff, Chan Sung Jung and Brian Ortega during the layoff, but each potential opponent sustained injuries, further delaying his return.
Now he’s left in a state of limbo, and isn’t sure what’s next.
“It’s been year-and-a-half I’ve been trying to get a fight,” Chikadze told MMA Junkie Radio at UFC X Radio Row earlier this month. “It’s a little bit frustrating because I’ve been training for a year and two months for a fight to prepare. It’s like a camp, a 14-month camp I’ve been preparing. In that time, usually people get a lot of injuries. I’m still good. I’m just waiting to come back.
“Fighters also declining and fighters they offered me, they got injured. Sodiq got injured. Also, ‘Zombie’ got injured, then they scheduled with other guy. Then Ortega, he had a prior injury. Now I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Prior to his loss against Kattar, which is his only defeat inside the octagon, Chikadze had reeled off seven consecutive victories under the UFC banner at 145 pounds. He turns 35 next month, which means time is of the essence to get back to work.
To hear more from Chikadze, watch the complete interview above.
Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,379, the guys welcome in UFC guests [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] and [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]. They also discuss the Jamahal Hill news, Mayra Bueno Silva’s win over Holly Holm and more. Tune in!
Giga Chikadze says the UFC is on board for him to fight Brian Ortega next.
[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] says the UFC is on board for him to fight [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] next.
Chikadze (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) hasn’t competed since he suffered his first UFC loss to Calvin Kattar in January 2022 – a fight in which he suffered quite a bit of damage in a striking battle.
That damage caused him to withdraw from his scheduled bout against Sodiq Yusuff at UFC Fight Night 210 this past September, but it was the doctors who pulled him from the fight. Being on the sidelines for so long has been frustrating for Chikadze, but he’s now ready to return.
“It’s been definitely a long time for me,” Chikadze told MMA Underground. “And it’s been crazy because you guys know how busy I was in that same amount of time at the beginning of my UFC career. I fought like five fights. It’s been pretty hard for me to stay like that and wait for my chance. Now we’re having some (talk) with the UFC, and they’re giving some good names.”
Chikadze has his eyes on former title challenger Ortega (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who’s currently recovering from shoulder surgery. According to the Georgian fighter, it’s an idea the UFC likes.
“We talked to the UFC and from the top 10, not too many people are ready to go,” Chikadze said. “Most of them are either injured or have opponents. One of the guys who doesn’t have an opponent – he’s been injured but he’s recovering – is Brian Ortega. UFC said they like this fight and I know that UFC talked to Brian about this fight. I heard that he likes this fight and he has intentions to fight me. So it’s absolutely a great opportunity if he would accept it. … They’re thinking it’s going to be end of July or August.”
[lawrence-related id=2579079,2637570,2582571]
Check out these highly anticipated matchups in 2022 that fell through due to various issues outside of the cage.
Fight bookings throughout 2022 were not ravaged by COVID-19 like the year before, but a number of key matchups still never made it to the cage.
Unfortunate injuries occurred in training camp, and in two instances, after weigh-ins, leading to last-minute scheduling changes and late bout scratches.
From entertaining veteran matchups to top contender bouts and title fight rematches, MMA lost some incredible fights this year due to various reasons.
Take a look below at some of the biggest pairings and why they did not go ahead as planned (in order of scheduled date).
UFC Fight Night 210 is in seek of a featherweight as Giga Chikadze is out of his co-main event slot opposite Sodiq Yusuff.
One half of the UFC Fight Night 210 co-main event is out.
[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] has withdrawn from his Sept. 17 bout vs. [autotag]Sodiq Yusuff[/autotag] scheduled for the UFC Apex in Las Vegas for undisclosed reasons. The promotion has not designated a replacement yet, but continues to actively seek one.
Multiple people with knowledge of the change recently informed MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Chikadze (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) comes off a unanimous decision loss to Calvin Kattar in January. The defeat snapped an unbeaten UFC run that included victories over Edson Barboza and Cub Swanson among others.
Yusuff (12-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) most recently competed in March when he got back in the win columnn with a unanimous decision victory over Alex Caceres. Other key victories in the promotion include Andre Fili and Gabriel Benitez.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 210 lineup includes:
[vertical-gallery id=2578217]
Giga Chikadze books his return to the octagon.
[autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] has an opponent and date for his return to the cage.
The UFC featherweight contender has been booked to take on [autotag]Sodiq Yusuff[/autotag] at a UFC Fight Night set to go down on Sept. 17. The location for the event hast yet to be announced.
The news of the matchup was announced by the promotion during Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 39 broadcast.
[lawrence-related id=2549033]
Chikadze (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is coming off his first professinal loss in the UFC. He last fought at UFC on ESPN 32 in January when he lost a unanimous decision to Calvin Kattar in the main event of the card. Prior to the loss, the 33-year-old was on a nine-fight winning streak, which included notable names such as Edson Barboza and Cub Swanson.
Yusuff (12-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) recently got back to his wining ways, defeating veteran Alex Caceres in a decision back in March to bouce back from a loss to Arnold Allen in April 2021.
The latest lineup for UFC Fight Night on Sept. 17 now includes:
[vertical-gallery id=497583]
Check out these photos from the red carpet and induction ceremony for the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2022.
Check out these photos highlighting the 2022 UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas where [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (modern wing), [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] (modern wing), [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag] (fight wing) and [autotag]Dooho Cho[/autotag]i (fight wing) were enshrined.
[autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (2021) and [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] (2022) also were presented with their Forrest Griffin Community Awards. (Photos by Carmen Mandato, Getty Images)
Calvin Kattar took a full year off following a one-sided loss to Max Holloway, and the time away appeared to do him some good.
[autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] took a full year off following a one-sided loss to Max Holloway, and the time away appeared to do him some good.
Kattar (23-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) looked absolutely fantastic in the headliner of this past weekend’s UFC on ESPN 32, taking home a dominant decision win over fellow featherweight [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC).
With the result, Kattar proved he’s still a very relevant name at the top of the 145-pound division and moves up one slot to No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings.
Meanwhile, despite suffering a loss, Chikadze’s previous seven-fight winning streak in the octagon is good enough to keep him at No. 12.
Following the first UFC event of 2022, take a look at the latest updates across all divisions using the dropdown menu above. More change seems inevitable following this weekend’s blockbuster UFC 270 event, as well.
[vertical-gallery id=1988206]
