This past Saturday on the main card of UFC Singapore, we saw one of the more exciting featherweight contenders make his highly anticipated return. Giga Chikadze (15-3) was finally back inside the octagon as he was taking on Alex Caceres (21-14).
Caceres entered the octagon with quite a bit of momentum and wasn’t afraid of anything that Chikadze was going to throw his direction. Chikadze hadn’t competed since he lost to Calvin Kattar back in January 2022. That fight was a brutal fight where Chikadze was battered for five rounds.
Combine that time off with injuries and you had an extended layoff for the Georgian featherweight contender. That said, he returned with full force on Saturday night. His kicks were as powerful as ever as he snapped the forearm of Caceres with one of the first kicks he through. In the end, he controlled all three rounds and got a much needed win at UFC Singapore.
What’s next after UFC Singapore?
After this win, Chikadze is back on track and he’s currently ranked eighth on the updated featherweight rankings. In looking at the division, there’s one really intriguing fight that immediately jumps out and that’s a fight with Yair Rodriguez.
Like Chikadze, Rodriguez is one of the more dynamic and exciting strikers in the division who leans heavily on his kicks. A battle between these two would be insane. It’s the fight that Chikadze wants before the end of the year. If Rodriguez is down, I absolutely think this would be a slam dunk for the UFC.
If that fight doesn’t come together, I think Josh Emmett could be a good next opponent. Emmett has lost two fights in a row but he’s just one fight removed from an interim title fight. That could be a nice step up for Chikadze.