Calvin Kattar turns Giga Chikadze into a bloody mess in dominant win at UFC Vegas 46 (Video)

Calvin Kattar turns Giga Chikadze into a bloody mess in a dominant win at UFC Vegas 46.

Calvin Kattar had heard enough of the critics following his last loss and put on arguably his best performance against Giga Chikadze.

Chikadze and Kattar met right in the middle of the cage in the opening seconds of the fight, with each of them landing some heavy kicks. Chikadze attempted his trademark high kick but slipped, and Kattar was able to secure the takedown and get Chikadze’s back. But, he wasn’t able to put Chikadze in real danger of submission.

Kattar continued to push the pressure throughout the fight, slicing Chikadze up with his trademark boxing. Chikadze seemed to abandon his patented kicks as the fight went on, which set Kattar up to control the boxing aspect of the bout.

Kattar didn’t just resort to his boxing though. He was also able to change levels throughout the fight and move things to the clinch when Chikadze put him in trouble.

Over the last two rounds, Kattar’s elbows began to open up massive cuts on Chikadze.

Calvin Kattar rebounded in a big way at UFC Vegas 46

Chikadze came into the fight riding high off of nine-straight victories, including a recent knockout of Edson Barboza. After he fell short of a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, he has looked unstoppable after getting his chance.

Kattar looked to get back on track in the featherweight division after a lopsided defeat to Max Holloway last January. Before that, he earned wins over Dan Ige and Jeremy Stephens.

The featherweight title conversation will continue when the champion Alexander Volkanovski faces Chan Sung Jung at UFC 273. Volkanovski was slated to face Holloway in a trilogy at UFC 272 before Holloway pulled out.

With the win over Chikadze, Kattar could be next in line for the title shot, depending on how long Holloway will be sidelined. He looks to gain the featherweight throne with a potential title opportunity on the horizon.

UFC Vegas 46 took place on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2021, live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV. Follow along with FanSided MMA, who is on-site, for all your news and highlights.