Giga
Chikadze believes his time has arrived in the Ultimate Fighting
Championship’s featherweight division.
“Ninja” earned his seventh straight Octagon triumph in the UFC on
ESPN 30 headliner, stopping respected striker Edson
Barboza via third-round technical knockout on Saturday at the
UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Now, Chikadze has his sights set on the top
of the division.
“I’m not interested in anything else,” Chikadze said at Saturday’s
post-fight press conference. “Like why? Everybody before this said
no to me. I’ve been told that I’m going to fight a top-five guy and
then the title. The top-five guy didn’t agree. Nobody agreed, and
that’s why I fought Edson, who is a bigger name than top five. So I
want to see myself on a top-five next week ranking, top-three
actually.”
In his post-fight interview, the Kings MMA product suggested that
he serve as an alternate for the upcoming featherweight title bout
between Alexander
Volkanovski and Brian
Ortega at UFC 266 on Sept. 25.
“I’m here to fight the best fights and the biggest names,” Chikadze
said in his post-fight interview. “I would love to cover the title
shot and be a replacement fighter. If not, somebody Hawaiian who’s
in the division. He knows my name. I saw him doing interviews, and
he said something like this, ‘Oh, yeah, I heard this Giga guy who
kicks.’ I’m not just a Giga guy; I’m a guy who kicks the sh*t out
of people.”
One of the potential opponents Chikadze has expressed interest in
facing is former featherweight champion Max
Holloway. Now, with a little more prestige added to his name,
Chikadze might be a little closer to his desired matchup.
“I was calling [out] Max before. That’s something that I wanted
before,” Chikadze said. “Now it’s my time. Conor [McGregor] era is
done. Georges St.
Pierre is retired. Now it’s Giga turn. It’s different. So make
sure you put yourself on the Giga train and ride with me.”