The long-awaited return of Giga Chikadze arrived Saturday at UFC Singapore, with the Georgian striker paired up in a main card match-up with Alex Caceres.
Chikadze had not competed since a devastating loss to Calvin Kattar in January 2022, but remained a contender at featherweight, where he had won four straight post-fight bonuses. Caceres, meanwhile, was 7-1 in his last eight fights, the best run of his pro career.
Round 1 began with Chikadze being very conservative and Caceres letting loose early. A heavy spinning back fist got Chikadze’s attention and got him working the body kicks. He still employed very patient game plan which makes sense with so much time away. Caceres continued popping the jab out and lunging in with 1-2s and seemed to be able to see everything Chikadze threw, early.
Round 2 Chikadze got his groove back in this round landing on Caceres as he timed his opponent’s rushes. Caceres would rush in with a combo, Giga would duck the shots, then land heavy blows in close. Once he got his rhythm he began to land combos on Caceres who did not change his game plan and continues to try side kicks to the body, combos in during a rush attack, and jabs.
Round 3 and Chikadze landed the heavier shots in this one. Caceres opted to continue his high-volume attack taking whatever Chikadze would give him. The entire fight kind of replayed in this round with both men landing on each other in a high-level chess match, but in the end it seemed like Chikadze may have landed the most damage, the bigger and more significant shots, but you never know with the judges.
Official Result: Giga Chikadze def. Alex Caceres by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
