UFC: Giga Chikadze lands trademark liver kick to take out Cub Swanson in 63 seconds, calls for Max Holloway next
- Georgian makes it six wins a row in the promotion with first-round TKO in UFC Vegas 25 co-main event
- ‘I had to tell all the top 15 guys I’m here – if you don’t know my name, now you know,’ says Chikadze
Giga “Ninja” Chikadze landed his trademark liver kick to drop featherweight legend Cub Swanson and get the first-round TKO after just 63 seconds in the UFC Vegas 25 co-main event on Saturday night.
Swanson fell to the canvas a second after the “Giga kick” struck him, and tried his best to stay in the fight by hanging on to the 32-year-old Georgian’s leg. But no 14-ranked Chikadze landed a few follow-up shots on the ground and referee Jason Herzog did the right thing and stepped in. The defeat snaps a two-fight win streak for 37-year-old American Swanson (27-12).
“I knew it was over, that’s why I kind of stopped,” Chikadze told Paul Felder in his post-fight interview backstage. “I didn’t go, the referee didn’t stop me, so I had to do a couple of punches.
“I am [excited] about that. Yeah man, I’m so happy. I have a tonne of respect for Cub but it is what it is, I had to do it. I had to tell all the top 15 guys I’m here – if you don’t know my name, now you know.”
Chikadze went the distance four times in a row after debuting in the promotion in 2019 but now has back-to-back first-round finishes for the third-longest active win streak (6) in the featherweight division, behind only the champ Alexander Volkanovski (7) and British prospect Arnold Allen (8).
It is No 1-ranked former champ Max Holloway that Chikadze has set his sights on facing next, however.