Rising featherweight Giga Chikadze will attempt to continue his undefeated UFC run on Saturday night, facing Calvin Kattar in the main event of a card from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
The fight headlines a card that marks the beginning of UFC’s 2022 schedule. Along with the promotion’s UFC 270 pay-per-view event set for next week, this show has suffered numerous changes in recent days. The card is currently set to have 10 fights in total, and prelims will start an hour earlier than the previously targeted time.
Here’s a preview of the entire show.
Click here to skip to a preview of the main card.
Preliminary Card (5:00PM EST / 2:00PM PST) (ESPN+ / TSN 5)
Bout 1: TJ Brown (15-8) vs. Charles Rosa (14-6) (Featherweight)
Featherweights TJ Brown and Charles Rosa will be the first fight in UFC’s 2022 schedule.
Brown earned his first UFC victory in May 2021, defeating Kai Kamaka III in a close split decision. He had previously lost two fights in the promotion in 2020.
Like many people on this card, Rosa took this fight on short notice. He’s stepping in to replace Gabriel Benitez, who withdrew earlier in the week. He’ll be attempting to bounce back from a unanimous decision loss that he took to Damon Jackson in October.
Bout 2: Brian Kelleher (23-12) vs. Kevin Croom (21-13) (Featherweight)
Experienced fighters Brian Kelleher and Kevin Croom will meet up at featherweight on Saturday night. Croom took the fight earlier this week, stepping in to replace Saidyokub Kakhramonov. Because of this, the bantamweight regulars are fighting a weight class above their regular division.
Kelleher scored a win last time around, defeating Domingo Pilarte in August.
Croom will be searching for his first official UFC win, as he currently has a no contest and a loss on his record.
Bout 3: Ramiz Brahimaj (9-3) vs. Court McGee (20-10) (Welterweight)
Veteran Court McGee will return against Ramiz Brahimaj on Saturday’s prelims.
McGee snapped a three-fight losing streak in his last appearance, going to a unanimous decision win over Claudio Silva. That fight was his first win since 2018.
Brahimaj is coming off his first UFC win, which was a quick first-round submission over Sasha Palatnikov from August.
Bout 4: Jamie Pickett (12-6) vs. Joseph Holmes (7-1) (Middleweight)
The short prelim card will wrap up with a fight between UFC newcomer Joseph Holmes and fellow middleweight Jamie Pickett.
Holmes earned a UFC contract in November, scoring a stoppage win over Jhonoven Pati on a Fury FC card. Not only did that win extend his winning streak to seven consecutive, but it happened with UFC President Dana White in attendance.
Picket is coming off his first UFC win, snapping a two-fight skid in October by beating Laureano Staropoli.
Main Card (7:00PM EST / 4:00PM PST) (ESPN+ / TSN 5)
Bout 5: Joanderson Brito (12-2-1) vs. Bill Algeo (14-6) (Featherweight)
In one of the numerous UFC debuts on this card, Joanderson Brito will meet Bill Algeo in a featherweight fight.
Brito won a UFC contract on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in August, defeating Diego Lopes via technical decision. This continued a streak of wins he had, including a 2019 fight in LFA.
Algeo is coming off a loss, dropping a decision to Ricardo Ramos in May. A win on Saturday will even his promotional record to two wins and two losses.
Bout 6: Dakota Bush (8-3) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (5-1) (Lightweight)
Another “Contender Series” standout will fight on the main card, as Viacheslav Borshchev will make his UFC debut against Dakota Bush.
Borshchev scored a big win on the “Contender Series” in October, stopping Chris Duncan with strikes and giving him his first pro loss. Before his shot on the TV show, Borshchev had impressed critics with two finish wins in Titan FC earlier in the year.
Bush lost his UFC debut in April 2021, losing on scorecards to Austin Hubbard.
Bout 7: Katlyn Chookagian (16-4) vs. Jennifer Maia (19-7-1) (Flyweight)
Ranked flyweights Katlyn Chookagian and Jennifer Maia will compete as part of Saturday’s main card.
Maia returned to the win column in July, defeating Jessica Eye via decision. This was her first appearance since losing a title fight to Valentina Shevchenko in 2020.
Chookagian currently has some momentum in the division, having beat Viviane Araujo and Cynthia Calvillo in her last two appearances.
Bout 8: Brandon Royval (12-6) vs. Rogerio Bontorin (17-3) (Flyweight)
Another high-level flyweight fight will happen when Brandon Royval and Rogerio Bontorin face off.
Royval had a quick start to his UFC run in 2020. After defeating Tim Elliott and Kai Kara-France in his rookie year with the promotion, he was already near the title picture. However, that momentum was stopped in late 2020 when he lost a fight to Brandon Moreno, who is now the UFC Flyweight Champion.
Royval has fought once since then, losing a fight via submission to Alexandre Pantoja in August 2021. He will now look to avoid falling into a three-fight losing streak at UFC’s card this weekend.
Bontorin avoided doing just that in his last appearance, as he broke a two-fight skid in May with a decision win over Matt Schnell.
Bout 9: Chase Sherman (15-8) vs. Jake Collier (12-6) (Heavyweight)
Heavyweights Chase Sherman and Jake Collier will fight next. Despite being in the co-main event spot of this card, both heavyweights are coming off a recent loss.
Sherman might need a win in this fight, as he has lost two consecutive fights. His last appearance was in August 2021, when Parker Porter beat him via decision.
Collier is coming off just one loss, dropping a close split decision to Carlos Felipe last year. Collier has won one of his three bouts since returning in 2020.
Bout 10: Calvin Kattar (22-5) vs. Giga Chikadze (14-2) (Featherweight)
The rise of Giga Chikadze could continue in Saturday night’s main event but will have to go through a tough test in Calvin Kattar.
Chikadze has yet to lose since joining the UFC roster. He has scored a whopping seven wins since 2019, with the past three being via finish. His most notable victory came in August last year, as he finished Edson Barboza in the third round of a main event fight.
The fight on Saturday will just be Chikadze’s second time in the main event.
Kattar is appearing for the first time in nearly an entire year. His last fight was in early 2021 when he was on the losing side of a dominant performance from former UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway.
Kattar had two strong wins before then, beating Jeremy Stephens and Dan Ige in 2020.
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