Giga Chikadze plans to smash Edson Barboza, play backup for Volkanovski-Ortega at UFC 266

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will separate contender from pretender when Giga Chikadze and Edson Barboza collide in the UFC Vegas 35 featherweight main event this Sat. night (Aug. 28, 2021) inside APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Chikadze (13-2) fell to Austin Springer on Dana White’s “Contender Series” back in June 2018 but has been electric ever since, to the tune of eight straight wins with four finishes. “Ninja” was last seen putting the hurt on Cub Swanson at UFC on ESPN 23.

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BLOCKBUSTER BANTAMWEIGHT BATTLE! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Newark, N.J., for the first time in more than three years on Sat., May 6, 2023, with a blockbuster Bantamweight collision inside Prudential Center that will see Aljamain Sterling attempt another successful title defense against returning two-division titleholder and former gold medal-winning Olympic wrestler, Henry Cejudo. In UFC 288’s last-minute pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, former Welterweight title challenger, Gilbert Burns, locks horns with No. 4-seeded contender, Belal Muhammad, in a five-round, 170-pound No. 1 contender eliminator match.

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“I think (Barboza) will try and take me down,” Chikadze told BJPenn.com. “He will start with striking and then he will see the difference in the level of striking we have and he will shoot. He’ll be shocked when he sees how much better of a striker I am, that we are on different levels. He will then turn into a wrestler and will try and take me down.”

The winner of Chikadze vs. Barboza will sit atop a very short list of title contenders, one that includes the winner of the Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez showdown in November. But “Ninja” may use his UFC Vegas 35 victory to sneak in the back door.

“I want a title shot,” Chikadze continued. “I’ll be the backup fighter for the title fight between (Alexander) Volkanovski and (Brian) Ortega at UFC 266. After I finish this fight, I think I will be able to be the backup fighter for the title fight in September. Holloway and Rodriguez are booked for November, so it makes sense that I’ll be the backup fighter.”

UFC 266 takes place Sept. 25 in Las Vegas.