"I realized I wanted to knock him out"- Giga Chikadze claims to have intentionally let go of his submission attempt on Edson Barboza
Giga Chikadze defeated Edson Barboza via a third-round TKO in his first UFC main event. The Georgian established himself as a legitimate featherweight contender with an emphatic win over the Brazilian at UFC Vegas 35.
Giga Chikadze outpointed Barboza for the majority of the fight before knocking him out just less than two minutes into round three. Right before finishing the former lightweight with strikes, Chikadze had his opponent in all sorts of trouble. At one point, he seemed close to sinking in a D'Arce choke. However, Chikadze let Barboza up.
'Ninja' has now claimed that he could have submitted Edson Barboza if he'd wanted to. According to Chikadze, he intentionally let the Brazilian back to his feet as he had predicted a knockout win. Chikadze recently told Damon Martin from MMA Fighting:
"I wanted to finish at some point with submission but then I realized that what I said, I said I was gonna knock him out. You know, I had him in very good D'Arce. The first was arm triangle and then the octagon kind of saved him. You know, we were very close to octagon and I was gonna hold his legs with my legs so I could finish. But then octagon helped him to defend. Then I switched to D'Arce. When I had him in D'Arce, I could finish him. But then I realized that I wanted to knock him out. I wanted to finish with a strike, so that's why I let it go, I stand up and finish with a extra three piece and a soda."
Catch MMA Fighting's interview with Giga Chikadze below:
Giga Chikadze is a versatile fighter
Giga Chikadze is well known for his signature 'Giga kick'. The Georgian rose to the limelight after decimating veteran Cub Swanson with the move back in May.
However, Giga Chikadze's striking is not limited to kicks. That much was clear when he faced Barboza. Of his versatile standup game, Chikadze further told Damon Martin:
"Absolutely, yes. That's not only my kicking game or my 'Giga kick' what people think that's only what I have, you know. I have all the way different tools from A to Z. And I have hands, elbows, knees."