Calvin Kattar reveals he took "offense" to Giga Chikadze looking past him and calling out Alexander Volkanovski
Calvin Kattar revealed he was offended when Giga Chikadze appeared to overlook him prior to their bout at UFC Vegas 46.
Chikadze called out Alexander Volkanovski after the featherweight kingpin accepted a fight against Chang Sung Jung at UFC 272 after Max Holloway was forced to pull out. The Georgian fighter claimed he should've received the title shot but then came up short in his recent outing against 'The Boston Finisher'.
During an interview with TMZ, Kattar admitted to being offended when Chikadze looked past him and got into a war of words with Volkanovski. The 33-year-old stated that it wasn't a smart move and one that 'Ninja' paid for.
"I took more offense to my opponent overlooking me. Calling out the champ? He's got a fight with me in a week. It just seemed like he was overlooking me. And like I mentioned before, if that's the case, not smart and probably going to pay for it. And he did," said Kattar.
Check out Kattar's interview with TMZ below:
Henry Cejudo apologizes to Calvin Kattar for ruling him out against Giga Chikadze
Calvin Kattar was the bookies' underdog heading into his clash with Giga Chikadze. Several pundits, including Henry Cejudo, tipped Chikadze to come away with the win. However, Kattar overcame the odds and put on an impressive performance en route to an emphatic victory.
During the latest episiode of The Triple C & Schmo Show, Cejudo apologized to Kattar for picking against him:
"It was actually more of a beating of the year. And you know what, I'm going to say this to Calvin Kattar, I'm sorry man, I apologize. I counted you out, man."
The former two-division champion also praised 'The Boston Finisher' for his tenacity:
"There's the same reason why somebody counts you out, they will respect you. And for that reason, I respect him because I didn't think he could bear a guy like Giga. But, you showed true tenacity, you went out there, You press them, your pressure, your composure was on point. Congratulations to Calvin Kattar, you got my respect."
Check out the entire episode of The Triple C & Schmo Show below:
Calvin Kattar showed incredible resiliency to bounce back from his loss to Max Holloway and defeat Giga Chikadze. With a big win under his belt, he could be set for another big fight in the featherweight division.