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#4. A win over Calvin Kattar would mean a great deal in the overall picture of the division
Right now, Giga Chikadze is ranked as the No.8 featherweight fighter in the world, behind the likes of Arnold Allen (No.7), Josh Emmett (No.6) and his opponent this weekend Calvin Kattar. Naturally, it’d be unusual for the UFC to award the No.8-ranked fighter in any division with a title shot.
However, if Chikadze can defeat ‘The Boston Finisher’ this weekend, then he’d almost certainly be elevated up the rankings. He'd most likely take Kattar’s spot at No.5. Sure, that still puts him behind four different fighters, but that wouldn’t matter.
The fact is that a win over Kattar would probably mean more than a win over most fighters in the division right now. Since arriving in the UFC in 2018, only three men have defeated him, Renato Moicano, Zabit Magomedsharipov and Max Holloway.
Holloway was the only one of the three to truly dominate Kattar. Even then, the former champion couldn’t put ‘The Boston Finisher’ away. Essentially, he’s arguably the toughest man in the division and he’s also clearly one of the best there too.
Given that Holloway couldn’t do it over five rounds, nobody really expects Giga Chikadze to destroy Kattar in the same way that he did to Edson Barboza and Cub Swanson. However, if he can beat him as impressively as ‘Blessed’ did, it’d probably be impossible not to give him the title shot at UFC 272.
#3. Giga Chikadze probably has the best resume in the division in recent years
While there are currently seven fighters ranked above Giga Chikadze in the UFC featherweight division, assuming he defeats Calvin Kattar, it’s arguable that 'Ninja’ would have the best resume of all the contenders there.
Max Holloway is obviously out of action, while Brian Ortega just lost to Alexander Volkanovski and isn’t ready for another title shot right now. Yair Rodriguez was defeated by Holloway last year and while Chan Sung Jung is coming off a win, it was his first since 2019.
That leaves Arnold Allen and Josh Emmett. While both men are on impressive win streaks, it’s probably fair to argue that neither man has beaten a pair of opponents as tough as Cub Swanson and Edson Barboza as Giga Chikadze has done.
Essentially, when it comes to both his number of wins (seven in a row) and the quality of them, Giga Chikadze is the most qualified to face off against Volkanovski in Holloway’s stead.
Of course, that would all change if he were to lose to Kattar, but the stylistic match between the two does seem to favor the Georgian. If he can get his hand raised, then, he ought to move into Holloway’s spot for UFC 272.
