The UFC announced a banger of a matchup tonight that will go down in their featherweight division. It was announced that top fifteen contenders and sensational strikers Giga Chikadze (14-3) and Sodiq Yusuff (12-2) will meet inside the octagon.
These two will throw down in the co-main event of a UFC Fight Night on September 17th. For Sodiq Yusuff, he’s going to be looking for his second straight win. The last time we saw “Super” Sodiq was at a Fight Night back in March against Alex Caceres.
It was his first fight in almost a year and he didn’t disappoint. Yusuff had a solid performance and got the decision win. Back in 2018, Yusuff earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Following that, he won his first four fights inside the octagon. Arnold Allen is the only man to defeat Yusuff inside the octagon. He’s hoping to pick up the big win against Chikadze in September which should have him back in the top ten.
UFC bounce back for Giga?
Like Yusuff, Giga Chikadze appeared on Dana White’s Contender Series although he lost his fight on the show. Also like Yusuff, Chikadze got off to a blazing hot start once he made his official debut inside the octagon.
Chikadze won his first seven fights in the UFC. However, it was the performances towards the end of that winning streak that really opened eyes. He struggled a little with some split decision wins out of the gate.
However, he really turned things on with three straight TKO wins to earn him a main event slot against Calvin Kattar. Had Chikadze won that fight, he might’ve earned a UFC title shot. However, he was brutalized in that fight.
Now, he will look to get back on track with a win over Yusuff. Whoever wins this fight is going to build a ton of momentum in the UFC’s featherweight division.