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UFCBelt -by Tom Nguyen-

Top 10 Facts about Giga Chikadze

Giga Chikadze was born on August 25th 1988,in Tbilisi.He is a Georgian mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He began training at the ages of 4 and 5 in Goju-Ryu Karate.

Chikadze got the inspiration to join by watching martial arts movies by Jet Li and Bruce Lee. His first introduction to MMA was watching the early UFC events, especially UFC I on VHS tapes.

He got very moved by Royce Gracie’s potential of defeating opponents of larger size while wearing a keikogi. 

Chikadze joined the world’s largest kickboxing organization GLORY, in 2015 after he had moved to the Netherlands for training and started competing in kickboxing.

He started his MMA journey by competing in various promotions including the  World Series of Fighting, Gladiator Challenge, Dana Whites  Tuesday Night Contender Series, and Ultimate Fighting Championship(UFC).

He formerly competes in the featherweight division in the UFC. He was ranked #8 in the UFC featherweight rankings in 2021. Here are 10 facts about Giga Chikadze.

1. He started to learn martial arts when he was 4 years old

Giga Chikadze was born in San Sebastian, Spain began to train in Goju-Ryu karate between the ages of 4 and 5.

As a child, he got the inspiration to join karate after watching martial arts movies by Jet Li and Bruce Lee.

His first introduction to Mixed Martial Arts(MMA) was watching the early UFC events and he got so inspired by Royce Gracie’s skills.

2. He won at the GLORY World Series Superfight

Glory kickboxing-by Seeuws-

Chikadze is Georgia’s leading kickboxer. GLORY World Series is the world’s premier kickboxing league and he took an amazing victory at the event which was held in Norfork, Virginia, the United States in 2016.

He won the fight by a knockout in the lightweight category.

GLORY said he delivered a stone performance making him a solid claim to being one of the most dangerous kickers in all of the fight sports.

3. Chikadze defeated the World Champion kickboxer, Chris Mauceri

At the GLORY World Series Superfight, which was one of the top kickboxing events in the United States, Chikadze defeated the world champion, Chris Mauceri, with a knockout.

He is said to have performed several powerful kicks including his figure liver kick to outfight his opponent.

He was able to throw all kinds of attacks at all kinds of distances from all kinds of angles. His hostile attack got Mauceri knocked down and unable to get back up.

4. Chikadze won four awards in the Ultimate Fighting Championship(UFC)

UFC 129-by User Msmirlie2863-

He signed a four-fight contract with the UFC where he won four awards. He won the Performance of The Night Award in 2021 three times against, Edson Barboza, Jamey Simmons, and Cub Swanson.

He went ahead to win the Fight of The Night Award against Calvin Kattar, on 15th January 2022.

5. Chikadze was selected for the 2022 Forrest Griffin Community Award

Chikadze was named the 2022 recipient of the Forrest Griffin Community Award. He was recognized by the promotion for his charity work assisting individuals fighting cancer.

The award was created in 2020 and named after former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin.

 The award annually recognizes a UFC athlete for his or her exceptional volunteer and charity work and the meaningful impact their efforts have on the community.

6. He received two professional losses in his MMA career

MMAWorldSeriesOfFightingLogo-by w: World Series of Fighting-

In the World Series of Fighting (WSOF), Chikadze made his mixed martial arts first performance as a lightweight facing Xtreme Couture fighter, Gil Guardado. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

He received his second professional loss in Dana Whites Tuesday Night Contender Series 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This was after facing former Ultimate Fighter Contestant Austin Springer in a featherweight division.

7. He uses Goju-Ryu and Kyokushin karate styles

International Federation of KENSHOKAI Goju-Ryu Karate-Do Flag-by International Federation of KENSHOKAI Goju-Ryu Karate-Do-

Chikadze began training  Goju-Ryu karate at an early age between the ages of 4 and 5. Goju-Ryu karate is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate, featuring a combination of hard and soft techniques.

Kyokushin karate was Oyama’s karate theory which diverged from Goju-Ryu into his own style. It consists of three main elements; technique, forms, and sparring.

Chikadze also used his kickboxing techniques, especially his trademark liver kick.

8. He is a former kickboxer

Chikadze started competing in kickboxing in 2015 when he moved to the Netherlands for training.

He joined GLORY, the world’s largest kickboxing organization where he has won several fights against famous kickboxers including world champion Chris Mauceri.

He has 46 total fights in the kickboxing record, with 38 wins by knockout and 8 losses by knockout.

9. Chikadze has been in several fight sports since the start of his MMA career

He made his martial arts first performance in the World Series of Fighting facing Xtreme Couture fighter, Gil Guardado which he lost.

He made his second debut in Gladiator Challenge which he won, then went ahead to Dana Whites Tuesday Night Contender Series where he received his second loss.

He then returned to the Gladiator Challenge after losing to Springerearning a quick victory. He joined the UFC making his first performance against fellow contender series fighter Mike Davis at UFC Fight Night 160 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

He made his next UFC appearance in UFC 248, then again faced Mike Davis in May 2020 at UFC on ESPN8, Alex Caceres in August 2020 at UFC Fight Night 75, and Omar Morales in October 2020 at UFC Fight Night 179.

He won the Performance of the Night awards at UFC on ESPN 17 and also the Performance of The Night bonus award at UFC on ESPN 23.

10.Chikadze tested positive of Covid-19

In his scheduled fight against Alex Caceres on 29 August 2020 at UFC Fight Night 175, Chikadze withdrew from the fight at the period due to testing positive for Covid-19.

He was replaced by promotional newcomer Kevin Croom. He returned on 11th October 2020, to face Omar Morales at the UFC Fight Night 179, where he won the fight via unanimous decision.

Giga Chikadze is a former kickboxer who was known for his left kick to the liver which he calls his Giga kick. He is currently a Mixed Martial Artist who plays in the featherweight division.

He is married to 33-year-old Tamuna Gazashvili, who currently works as a Marketing Director at AnB Management and Investment.