"Elbows were just happening on the fly" - Calvin Kattar revisits and breaks down his win over Giga Chikadze
Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze headlined the first UFC event of 2022. Kattar delivered a technical masterpiece, thoroughly schooling 'Ninja' on his way to a lopsided decision victory.
'The Boston Finisher' recently weighed in on what could be called his career-best performance. According to Kattar, closing the distance to "boxing range" was a vital factor in his victory over Chikadze.
Kattar also believes he could have dispatched Chikadze before the final bell had he invested more in the body. During an episode of the Believe You Me podcast, the No.5-ranked featherweight said:
"I feel good. I'm glad we were able to stay disciplined, stuck to the game plan. You know, landed the takedown, kind of took most of that steam off his shots in the first round and after that the best defense was staying on offense, staying behind the jab, pressuring him, smothering his shots. If you hear his breakdowns, he talks about needing space for everything he sets up. And we just wanted to take that away and make it more of a boxing range fight. And the elbows were just happening on the fly. I felt like I was landing some good shots and I felt like he was gonna go down soon."
Watch Calvin Kattar break down his performance below:
Calvin Kattar on Giga Chikadze's mindset
To his credit, Giga Chikadze displayed immense toughness to withstand significant damage over the course of five rounds. However, immediately after the brutal beatdown, Chikadze claimed he would beat Kattar nine times out of 10.
Kattar, who suffered a similar beating against Max Holloway last year, believes Chikadze is approaching his loss the wrong way. The 33-year old told CBS Sports' Shakiel Mahjouri:
"That's the wrong mindset to come out of that type of fight with. Pretty sure Max had put me in similar situations last year and that was the last thing on my mind. That sounds more ego-driven and for me, I was just focused on getting back to work. Can't control the last one, whatever about the last one. Sh*t happens."
Watch Calvin Kattar's interview with CBS Sports below: