A featherweight bout between Edson Barboza and Giga Chikadze will headline UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Chikadze on Saturday, August 28 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Barboza is 22-9 in his career and currently on a two-fight winning streak, while Chikadze is 13-2 and on an eight-fight winning streak. There are six fights on the main card of UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Chikadze and five fights on the preliminary card. All 11 fights can be seen on ESPN and ESPN+. Let’s look at the bout between Barboza and Chikadze and UFC predictions.
UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Chikadze takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, August 28 with six fights on the main card and five on the preliminary card with all 11 bouts on ESPN and ESPN+.
UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Chikadze Betting
Edson Barboza (22-9, 16-9 UFC)
Barboza came into the UFC with a record of 6-0 and he has 16 wins and nine losses in the UFC. In his last five fights he is 2-3. Barboza is coming off a KO win against Shane Burgos. Barboza won by unanimous decision against Makwan Amirkhani October of last year, lost by split decision against Dan Ige in May of last year, lost to Justin Gaethje by KO in March of 2019, and lost by split decision against Paul Felder in September of 2019. Barboza has been a pro since 2009 and he has 13 wins by KO/TKO and one by submission. He has seven first round finishes.
“I expect a war. Like always. Everybody knows that every time I step into the Octagon, I’m ready for war, like in my last fight.” Barboza said to the media, “And this fight’s not gonna be different. I trained super hard and feel great. I’m healthy and, most importantly, I’m motivated. I can’t wait for August 28. Like I said, it’s gonna be a war.”
Barboza is aware of the skills that Chikadze has and that means a striking battle is in the cards for Saturday. “He’s a great striker. He’s looking great in the last couple of fights… He finished the guys with the kicks. He’s a really good kicker. But I’m good at kicking too. I’m the best striker in the world, for sure in MMA.” Barboza said, “I really believe he can’t stand in front of me for 25 minutes. I really believe that. It’s super hard standing in front of me for 25 minutes. I hurt people, man. If you watch my last couple of fights…my fight against (Dan) Hooker, if you stand in front of me, I hurt you… If he gives me one chance…the fight’s gonna be over, for sure.”
Giga Chikadze (13-2, 6-0 UFC)
Chikadze came into the UFC with a record of 7-2 and he has six wins and no losses in the UFC. He is 5-0 in his last five fights. He is coming off a TKO win against Cub Swanson in May. Chikadze won by TKO against Jamey Simmons in November of last year, won by unanimous decision against Omar Morales in October of last year, won by unanimous decision against Irwin Rivera in May of last year, and won by split decision against Jamall Emmers in March of last year. Chikadze has been a pro since 2015 and he has eight wins by KO/TKO and one by submission. He has eight first round finishes.
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Barboza 4.16 / Chikadze 3.55
Striking Accuracy: Barboza 44% / Chikadze 44%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Barboza 4.15 / Chikadze 2.67
Defense: Barboza 59% / Chikadze 60%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Barboza 0.42 / Chikadze 0.38
Takedown Accuracy: Barboza 44% / Chikadze 33%
Takedowns defended: Barboza 78% / Chikadze 68%
Submission average: Barboza 0.1 / Chikadze 0.0
UFC Picks
The first question I have is whether Chikadze is really an elite striker. I know he took out Cub Swanson but I have never been impressed with Swanson. Let’s see how he does against a tough fighter who hits hard in Barboza. I’ll take Barboza to get the win and also play the rounds to go under the total.
UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Chikadze Card & Odds
Featherweight - Edson Barboza -123 vs. Giga Chikadze -107
Middleweight - Gerald Meerschaert +405 vs. Makhmud Muradov -600
Middleweight - Sam Alvey +100 vs. Wellington Turman -130
Featherweight - Pat Sabatini +124 vs. Jamall Emmers -155
Light Heavyweight - Darren Stewart +143 vs. Dustin Jacoby -180
Welterweight - Kevin Lee -150 vs. Daniel Rodriguez +120
Bantamweight - Brady Hiestand +135 vs. Ricky Turcios -170
Middleweight - Bryan Battle -160 vs. Gilbert Urbina +127
Middleweight - Micheal Gillmore +379 vs. Andre Petroski -550
Bantamweight - Guido Cannetti +228 vs. Mana Martinez -300
Women's Flyweight - Vanessa Demopoulos +267 vs. JJ Aldrich -360
Middleweight - Alessio Di Chirico -240 vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan +186
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