35 next month and forced to impatiently wait for his next matchup, #9 ranked featherweight contender Giga Chikadze has spoken of his frustration at multiple fights falling out as he continues to ready himself for a long-awaited return. He’s not the only ranked fighter in this position, though it reiterates how little they can control outside of getting themselves to the cage fully healthy.
Chikadze left in limbo, as potential foes repeatedly fall out
- Chikadze was out for four months with injuries he needed five surgeries to fully solve, though has been ready to return for more than a year now
- “It’s a little bit frustrating because I’ve been training for a year and two months, like a 14-month camp I’ve been preparing. In that time, usually people get a lot of injuries – I’m still good – just waiting to come back.”
- Prospective matchups against Sodiq Yusuff, the Korean Zombie and Brian Ortega all fell through – the latter two didn’t make it to official fight scheduling but were options withdrawn after injuries sustained by both
- This update comes in a week where now-former light-heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill vacated his title after rupturing his Achilles playing basketball, while Umar Nurmagomedov withdrew from next month’s Cory Sandhagen main event matchup with training camp injury
Perennial featherweight contender Calvin Kattar has fought twice – a split decision loss and suffering his own knee injury – since humbling Giga Chikadze with another Fight of the Night contest during their Apex headliner in January 2022.
At this rate, they’ll return around the same time if Chikadze’s not careful – though that has nothing to do with the Georgian, 35 next month and itching to make up for lost time in a division where the defending champion continues building his legacy.
Featherweight rankings, at the time of writing
1-4: Max Holloway, Yair Rodriguez, Brian Ortega, Arnold Allen
5: Ilia Topuria – earmarked as Alexander Volkanovski’s next challenger
6-10: Josh Emmett, Calvin Kattar, Korean Zombie, Giga Chikadze, Movsar Evloev
11-15: Sodiq Yusuff, Bryce Mitchell, Dan Ige, Edson Barboza, Alex Caceres
“Fighters also declining, fighters they offered me got injured – Sodiq, Zombie, then they scheduled with another guy. Ortega had a prior injury, now I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Ortega had a well-documented shoulder issue and subsequently been sidelined for a full year, since a intriguing matchup against Rodriguez was sadly cut short.
He’s set to return to full training next month and while the Rodriguez rematch will always be a possibility, he’s expressed a readiness to humble 14-0 contender Ilia Topuria after Chikadze’s compatriot had plenty to say about T-City in March.
Just like Chikadze, it’s likely Ortega will have to fight down in the top-15 rankings before resuming his quest for championship gold in the new year.
Arnold Allen [4] and Josh Emmett [6] are in a similar position, while others below them are either injured or recently fought like Dan Ige [13] and Alex Caceres [15].
Kattar [7] is targeting a return during the first quarter of 2024, while Bryce Mitchell [12] withdrew from a proposed showdown with Movsar Evloev with a back injury in May but Thug Nasty‘s response to this callout suggests he’ll be fit next month.
Ultimately, Chikadze’s a victim of bad timing at a stage where fresh featherweight contenders for Volkanovski are in short supply. Had he beaten Kattar that night on his big showcase, 18 months ago now, perhaps it’d be a different story.
Unless willing to face a dangerous unbeaten prospect in Evloev [10] or reschedule the Yusuff matchup, he’ll be waiting a little longer before making his Octagon return.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via mmajunkie
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