Giga Chikadze: Finish over Kevin Vallejos puts me back where I belong
Giga Chikadze is looking to remind everyone that he’s a player at featherweight come UFC on ESPN 73.
Chikadze (15-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) takes on rising contender Kevin Vallejos (16-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in the Dec. 13 co-main event (ESPN+) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
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The 37-year-old Georgian fighter started out his UFC career at 7-0, including back-to-back bonus-winning finishes of Cub Swanson and Edson Barboza. However, he fell short in his second main event against Calvin Kattar in June 2022, and it’s been inconsistencies and injuries since then. He hopes to change all that with a statement win over Vallejos.
“I can’t wait to get this win, get this knockout as early as I can,” Chikadze told MMA Junkie Radio. “Hopefully it’s going to be the first round, and then I’m preparing a nice callout because I feel like the division’s been missing me and there were a lot of reasons why I was in the shadows. I had multiple injuries before, but thank God everything went well. But it’s time to run it back.
“I used to fight four times a year, and this is the real Giga. When I love doing something, I want to do it as much as I can do it. I want to be ahead, I want to headline the show, become a champion soon next year. I believe this fight after a nice finish is going to put me back where I belong. So after that, I’m looking for higher-ranked opponents.”
Chikadze has a significant experience advantage over Vallejos, and he plans on showing the difference come fight night.
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“I believe the UFC gave him a little bit too early this platform to be a co-main event and fight somebody who’s ranked in the top 15,” Chikadze said. “But we will see soon. He definitely has a good career, he has some good fights, but I don’t think it’s going to be a big challenge for me.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Giga Chikadze eyes higher-ranked fighters with Kevin Vallejos finish