5 biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Edson Barboza vs. Giga Chikadze
Very few UFC fans would’ve classed UFC Fight Night: Edson Barboza vs. Giga Chikadze as one of their most anticipated cards of 2021. However, it turned out to be hugely entertaining.
Basically, every fight on offer at this UFC Fight Night event delivered watchable action, and as usual, some of the fighters picked up huge victories to move them forward.
So which fighters came up trumps thanks to their victories last night, and will those victories move them into UFC title contention? For some, it’s definitely possible.
Here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Edson Barboza vs. Giga Chikadze.
#5. Abdul Razak Alhassan – defeated Alessio Di Chirico on the UFC Fight Night prelims
Abdul Razak Alhassan’s fight with Alessio di Chirico was thrown together on horribly late notice when both men’s original opponents dropped out. And on paper at least, it looked like a tricky bout for ‘Judo Thunder’.
Not only had most of his UFC success come at 170 pounds, but he was faced with a fighter coming off the best showing of his UFC career, as Di Chirico knocked out Joaquin Buckley in January.
More to the point, Alhassan had not won a fight in the octagon since his 2018 victory over Niko Price. And with three losses in a row under his belt, a fourth here could’ve signaled the end of his UFC tenure.
However, Alhassan pulled out one of the most explosive knockouts of 2021 by destroying Di Chirico with a head kick in just 17 seconds. It was a ridiculous finish that summed up the best of Alhassan, who is essentially a ball of power and fast twitch muscles.
Sure, there’s an argument to suggest that Di Chirico – who ducked directly into the kick – was almost the architect of his own downfall, but it takes a special fighter to be able to throw a strike like Alhassan did.
Will the win put him back on track in the UFC? Who knows. At the end of the day, ‘Judo Thunder’ has always been a glass cannon of sorts. However, this was a tremendous victory and it likely saved his UFC career, making him one of last night’s biggest winners.