UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs Chikadze
At long last, the UFC is back with it’s first card of 2022. While this card may lack star power, it certainly doesn’t lack in quality fights. This card has a solid variety of both veterans and up-and-comers, as well as an excellent matchup in its main event. Giga Chikadze has been on an asbolute tear in the featherweight division as of late, and he will meet an absolute brick wall in Calvin Kattar. I expect nothing less than fireworks in this main event, and to see some very exciting bouts in the prelims as well.
Prelims
As I did with the last Fight Night, instead of covering the entirety of the prelims, I’m going to pick out the matchups that excite me the most and cover those.
Brian Kelleher vs. Kevin Croom
Bantamweight Bout
Brian Kelleher: 23-12-0, 8 KO/TKO, 10 Sub.
Kevin Croom: 21-13-0, 6 KO/TKO, 10 Sub.
A very interesting matchup, which is evident based on each fighters wealth of experience, I’m very intrigued by this bout. Brian Kelleher has found victories in 3 of his last five fights, and has wins over Ode’ Osbourne (10-4-0), former UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao (34-9-0), and Iuri Alcantara (35-10-0). Kelleher is an over ten year veteran of MMA, having fought across the country in promotions like Ring of Combat, Cage Fury, and even Bellator before finding his way into the UFC in 2017. Despite being listed as a BJJ fighter, “Boom” is very well rounded, with a solid ability to strike on the feet with good power in his hands. Kelleher does have excellent grappling, as 4 of his 7 UFC victories came via Submission, all of the 4 coming in the first round. Training at team Maxum BJJ, he also has great wrestling to complement his Jiu-Jitsu, often securing powerful double leg takedowns to take the fight to the mat. Kelleher has an excellent guillotine, and has 3 victories via 1st round guillotine in the UFC. He’s also very durable and very capable of going a full 15 minutes. Kevin Croom comes into this bout having won 3 of his last 5, although one of those fights was actually a 1st round submission win for Croom, but was overturned to a no contest due to a positive test for marijuana. Croom will be making just his third UFC appearance, but has victories over Roosevelt Roberts (10-3-0), Charles Bennett (30-42-2) and Darrick Minner (26-13-0). He has plenty of experience outside the UFC, with fights in the RFA, LFA, Shooto, and Bellator. Croom tends to be very active on the feet, constantly moving and throwing a lot of hooks, and just going for power shots in general. Croom seems to often set up his grappling with his striking, using voluminous boxing to get in close for a takedown. When the fight is on the ground, Croom will often pursue chokes, particularly rear naked chokes. Kelleher opens as a pretty decent favorite at -300, with Croom a +240 underdog, which makes sense considering Croom wasn’t even fighting up until Thursday. Both fighters have very similar records but I think Kelleher’s guillotine could be the difference maker in this fight. Croom has been caught in quick guillotines before while going for takedowns, and I think with such a short notice bout he’s going to want to take the fight where he’s most comfortable. I do have a bias towards Kelleher, he’s never in a boring fight and is one of my favorite guys to watch, and I think he takes the victory here. Due to Kelleher being such a big favorite, betting rounds has better value, so I’m gonna go with the under. Croom is on such short notice and has a decent amount of first round losses, and with so little time to game plan I don’t know how well he will fare.
Picks: Under 2.5 Rounds, Kelleher -300Charles Rosa vs. TJ Brown
Featherweight Bout
Charles Rosa: 14-6-0, 3 KO/TKO, 8 Sub.
TJ Brown: 15-8-0, 4 KO/TKO, 9 Sub.
The first fight of the card, this is a great matchup that I think will make for a very fun fight. Charles Rosa comes into this bout with wins in 2 of his last 5 fights. Rosa is a pretty unique fighter, coming from a family with a boxing background, yet fighting with a rather karate-like stand up game. While he may not use his lead leg quite as often as other karate fighters, he does have a solid kicking game and good power in his hands. Training out of American Combat Gym and formerly American Top Team, Rosa has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a solid variety of submission victories on his record. His best wins came over Sean Soriano (14-8-0) and Manny Bermudez (14-2-0), both being submission victories. “Boston Strong” has a tendency to go for power as opposed to volume on the feet, will constantly blitz and retreat, and regularly change stances. There’s not really one specific submission he’ll regularly go after, but is extremely skilled from his back as well as on top. TJ Brown has won 3 of his last five, with 1 of those wins coming in the UFC and one on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. His best victory came over Kai Kamaka (9-4-1), but has decent experience having fought in both the RFA and LFA. On the feet, Brown loves to headhunt, throwing powerful shots with his hands and fighting behind his jab, mixing in the occasional head kick. Training at Westside Fight Team, “Downtown” has shown great grappling in his career, with powerful, damaging takedowns and very good ability with chokes. Despite his grappling prowess, Brown does seem to enjoy getting into exchanges on the feet, which is exemplified in his fight with Kamaka where he took a razor thin split decision win. When the fight does reach the mat, Brown will usually chase either an arm triangle or a rear naked choke, two submissions he has pulled off multiple times in his career. He can be a bit unpredictable though, as he has quality grappling but also some wild, brawling tendencies on the feet. TJ Brown opens as a -255 favorite, with Rosa the +200 underdog. This is a very short notice fight for Rosa, as the news broke of him replacing Gabriel Benitez on Wednesday. This is a tough fight to pick a winner in, Rosa has more high level experience and a more well rounded game, but is coming in without a full camp. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a finish in this fight, but it could come pretty late. Over 2.5 rounds is the safest pick, and I’ll be a little dangerous here and take Rosa moneyline. I think he’s more technical than Brown on the feet and more skilled on the ground, but it’s very tough to win on such short notice, so this is a very risky pick.
Picks: Over 2.5 Rounds, Rosa +200Main Card
Bill Algeo vs. Joanderson Brito
Featherweight Bout
Bill Algeo: 14-6-0, 3 KO/TKO, 6 Sub.
Joanderson Brito: 12-2-1, 5 KO/TKO, 5 Sub.
The first fight of the main card, this fight features two very fun prospects. This is Joanderson Brito’s UFC debut, and he hasn’t lost a fight in nearly 6 years, with nearly all of those wins coming via finish. Brito uses a brutal, highly aggressive Muay Thai style on the feet, constantly throwing long and devastating combos. He loves to throw power shots, often throwing multiple hooks in each combination, but is great at mixing in kicks and body shots. He is a good grappler as well, with an excellent choke game and quality wrestling. He showed his defensive grappling abilities in his fight on the Contender Series, where he defended multiple submissions and did a great job working out of bad situations. Training at Chute Boxe, Brito has a highly entertaining style, brawling and throwing bombs on the feet and shooting powerful slam takedowns, as well as landing big shots on the ground. He can and will take the fight anywhere, and doesn’t seem to be uncomfortable in any position whether it’s on the feet or the ground. Bill Algeo has won 2 of his last 5 fights, with his best win coming over Spike Carlyle (13-3-0). Although he only has 3 UFC fights, Algeo is experienced on the MMA scene, with fights in Cage Fury, World Series of Fighting (now PFL), and held and defended a title in Ring of Combat. Algeo uses a karate-like style on the feet, often keeping his hands down and throwing a variety of strikes including kicks and punches to both the head and body. Training at Algeo MMA & Kickboxing, he will engage on the feet, showcasing decent head movement and hand speed, with solid power in his kicks. Algeo is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but also has a good wrestling background. He’s good on his back and on top, willing to throw ground and pound as well as pursue submissions, having his most success with rear naked chokes. He’s also shown good takedown defense and clinchwork in his UFC tenure. Algeo also seems to gain confidence as the fight goes on, but also seems to fade a bit over the course of three rounds and doesn’t have quite the speed or technicality he shows early. Brito is a slight favorite in this fight at -140, putting Algeo at +120 as the underdog. I think Algeo’s tendency to fight with his hands down could prove to be a real problem, as Brito loves to storm forward and throw huge shots. I like Brito by knockout, Algeo’s confidence may be his downfall in this one. Although Algeo has seen plenty of decisions recently, this is not at all the case with Brito, so I’ll also take under 2.5 rounds.
Picks: Brito by KO/TKO, Under 2.5 roundsDakota Bush vs. Viacheslav Borshchev
Lightweight Bout
Dakota Bush: 8-3-0, 2 KO/TKO, 4 Sub.
Viacheslav Borshchev: 5-1-0, 4 KO/TKO, 0 Sub.
An exciting matchup of two prospects, I’d be shocked to see this fight go 3 rounds. Dakota Bush comes into his second UFC fight having won 3 of his last five, with none of those wins coming in the UFC. He has no big name victories, with all of his wins coming on the regional circuit. Training at Glory MMA, on the feet Bush tends to blitz forward and through a lot of big hooks, using a kickboxing style and mixing in a lot of lead leg attacks. He isn’t the most technical striker, throwing a lot of hooks and power shots mixed in with kicks to the body. Bush is a solid grappler, much better with his submission game than wrestling game. When on the ground, Bush will typically look for ground and pound or a choke, specifically the rear naked choke, which he has found all 4 of his submission wins with. He will throw spinning attacks on occasion, and can find himself in brawls on the feet due to his tendency to throw constant power shots. Viacheslav Borshchev has won 4 of his last 5 wins, with this being his UFC debut after a beautiful knockout of Chris Duncan (7-1-0) on the Contender Series. Borshchev uses technical, tight kickboxing on the feet, throwing beautiful combinations with power behind every shot he throws. Training at the excellent Team Alpha Male, he can also throw powerful kicks high and low, and is a great counter-puncher. He showed a great ability to overcome adversity in his Contender Series fight, working out of some really tough spots and engaging in some brutal exchanges on the feet. He’s not likely to take the fight to the mat, but definitely has wrestling ability from training at a camp with some really top level wrestlers. He also has one of my all time favorite nicknames, “Slava Claus,” gifting exciting fights to fans every time he gets in the cage. Borschchev is the favorite here at -190, with Bush the underdog at +160. Honestly, a Russian who trains at Team Alpha Male kind of speaks for itself. I think Borshchev will overwhelm Bush on the feet with his much more technical striking, and ultimately find the knockout. The safest bet on this fight is definitely under 2.5 rounds, but I’ll also take Borshchev by KO/TKO.
Picks: Under 2.5 rounds, Borshchev by KO/TKO#2 Katlyn Chookagian vs. #4 Jennifer Maia
Women’s Flyweight Bout
Katlyn Chookagian: 16-4-0, 2 KO/TKO, 1 Sub.
Jennifer Maia: 19-7-1, 4 KO/TKO, 5 Sub.
A fantastic stylistic matchup, this fight is actually a rematch, with their first fight taking place in 2019. Chookagian took the first fight by unanimous decision, and has won 3 of her last five fights. Chookagian has really fought a who’s who of women’s flyweight, with wins over Lauren Murphy (15-5-0), Alexis Davis (20-11-0) and Viviane Araujo (10-3-0). Training at Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Chookagian is known for her boxing style on the feet, using crisp combos and excellent counter-punching to do damage to her opponents. Chookagian also has good kicks, able to use a wide variety of attacks and mix kicks in with punch combinations. While definitely a striker, Chookagian has the ability to mix it up on the ground, often resorting to ground and pound instead of submissions. She’s one of the most experienced fighters in the entire division, being tied for the most fights in the women’s flyweight division and has the second most wins of all time in that division. Her last two losses came against the very best of the division, being #1 contender Jessica Andrade (22-9-0) and current women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (22-3-0). Jennifer Maia has also won 3 of her last 5 fights, scoring solid victories over Jessica Eye (15-10-0), Joanne Wood (15-7-0) and Roxanne Modafferi (25-20-0). Maia, despite having a black belt in Muay Thai, largely uses her boxing on the feet, but is a bit less technical than her opponent and tends to throw more looping shots. She has some decent kicking ability, but won’t throw kicks too often, usually throwing a few leg kicks and a very occasional head kick. Training at the legendary Chute Boxe, Maia is an excellent grappler and has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Maia will go for both ground and pound and submissions, with a handful of armbars on her record. A former Invicta women’s flyweight champ, Maia does actually have some professional boxing experience as well, going 3-0 in her career. In their first bout, which was only 2 years ago, we saw Chookagian overwhelm Maia on the feet with more technical striking, both landing more strikes and being more accurate than her opponent. Unsurprisingly, Chookagian is the favorite at -190, with Maia the underdog at +160. There really hasn’t been all that much time since their last fight, and Chookagian has both fought better competition and been more active than Maia since their first bout. Over 2.5 rounds is very safe for this fight, with Chookagian going to decision in 11 of her 13 UFC fights, and Maia 6 of her 7. I will also take Chookagian moneyline, I don’t know if Maia has improved enough from their first fight and I expect a similar outcome.
Picks: Over 2.5 rounds, Chookagian -190#5 Brandon Royval vs. #7 Rogerio Bontorin
Flyweight Bout
Brandon Royval: 12-6-0, 3 KO/TKO, 8 Sub.
Rogerio Bontorin: 17-3-0, 3 KO/TKO, 11 Sub.
A significant bout in the flyweight division, this a great matchup of fighters with similar styles. Brandon Royval has won 3 of his last five fights, scoring impressive wins over Tim Elliot (18-12-1) and Kai Kara-France (23-9-0). Training at FactoryX Muay Thai, Royval is a well rounded fighter, but is at his best on the ground. Royval showed his ability on the feet in his fight with Kai Kara-France, with the first round being one of the craziest rounds I’ve ever watched. Royval has both speed and power in his hands, utilizing a loose, kickboxing style and a solid mix of kicks and punches. He has no problem engaging in big exchanges on the feet, and also has a solid chin. He is excellent on the ground, with a black belt in BJJ, and is able to seemingly find submissions from anywhere with an excellent defensive grappling game to complement his submission capabilities. He has a solid variety of submission victories on his record, being very sufficient in chokes and joint locks. Although he’s lost his last two fights, it was to the best of the division in the current UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno (19-5-2) and #3 flyweight Alexandre Pantoja (24-5-0). Rogerio Bontorin has also won 3 of his last 5 fights, with wins over Matt Schnell (15-6-0) and Raulian Paiva (21-4-0). On the feet, Bontorin uses a boxing style, often throwing big looping hooks and aggressively headhunting. He will mix in some leg kicks, but largely uses his hands when engaging in striking. Bontorin, training with the Gile Ribeiro/Noguchi Team, is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and is very capable on the ground, but is actually yet to pick up a submission win in the UFC. It seems if he does pursue a submission, it tends to be the rear naked choke, with 8 of his 11 submission victories being via rear naked. Bontorin has solid power for a flyweight, and a decent chin to complement it, but can be knocked out as shown in his first round KO loss to Kai Kara-France. Brandon Royval is the betting favorite in this fight at -170, with Bontorin the underdog at +145. I think although he has less UFC fights, Royval has faced much stiffer competition, and went toe-to-toe and won against Kara-France, who slept Bontorin. Bontorin also has a tendency to come out a bit flat-footed and slow in the first round, something Royval can certainly capitalize on. I’d be surprised if this fight saw the judges, so I’ll definitely take under 2.5 rounds, but I’m pretty confident Royval picks up the win in this fight by finish.
Picks: Royval by KO/TKO or Sub., Under 2.5 roundsJake Collier vs. Chase Sherman
Heavyweight Bout
Jake Collier: 12-6-0, 5 KO/TKO, 3 Sub.
Chase Sherman: 15-8-0, 14 KO/TKO, 0 Sub.
A classic bout between two big heavyweights with heavy hands, this should be an entertaining co-main. Jake Collier has won 2 of his last 5 fights, with victories over Gian Villante (17-14-0) and Marcel Fortuna (9-4-0). Training at Pit MMA, Collier is a pretty typical heavyweight, utilizing a boxing style and heavy hands on the feet. He has a tendency to put his head down and throw big hooks, but can put together some nice combos and decent volume for a fighter of his size. He will also throw some kicks, largely consisting of leg kicks and a few head kicks. Although he has 3 submissions on his record, he really doesn’t initiate grappling situations too often, usually preferring to just slug it out on the feet. Collier can take a punch like most heavyweights, but has been knocked out twice in the UFC. He has traded wins his entire UFC career, and hasn’t fared well when given high level competition like Tom Aspinall (11-2-0) or Carlos Felipe (11-2-0). Collier does a good job of keeping his boxing technical over the course of the fight, and will really only throw wild when he has his opponent hurt. Chase Sherman has won 3 of his last 5 fights, and has victories over Ike Villanueva (18-13-0) and Damian Grabowski (21-5-0). Similar to Collier, Sherman is a boxer, throwing heavy hooks, straights, and solid combinations. He does have a decent kicking game, able to throw strong leg and body kicks alongside his punches. Like his opponent, he rarely takes the fight to the ground, and I think his record really speaks to that. This is actually his second run in the UFC, and has struggled against high level competition, with losses to Andrei Arlovski (32-20-0) and Walt Harris (13-10-0). Training at the excellent Jackson-Wink MMA, Sherman seems to be at his best early, as like many heayweights he doesn’t have the best cardio and has had a tendency to fade as the fight goes on. Collier is a slight favorite at -135, and Sherman the underdog at +110. The safest pick here would definitely be over 2.5 rounds, although this is a heavyweight bout both fighters have been going to decisions as of late and neither fighter has been finished very many times in their career. This is a brutal fight to pick a winner in: if Sherman could get it going early he could take a victory, but I think Collier is just a little more technical, as well as having slightly better cardio and better output. I’ll cautiously take Collier in this one.
Picks: Over 2.5 rounds, Collier -135#5 Calvin Kattar vs. #8 Giga Chikadze
Featherweight Bout
Calvin Kattar: 22-5-0, 11 KO/TKO, 2 Sub.
Giga Chikadze: 14-2-0, 8 KO/TKO, 2 Sub.
An absolutely excellent matchup of top level strikers, this main event is guaranteed to be fireworks. Calvin Kattar comes into this bout having won 3 of his last 5, with wins over Dan Ige (15-5-0), Jeremy Stephens (28-19-0), and Hinsdale Central alumni Ricardo Lamas (20-8-0). Kattar is a highly technical and patient boxer, often biding his time and fighting behind his jab before landing devastating shots with his hands. Training with the New England Cartel, Kattar proved his toughness by surviving one of the worst one sided beatings I’ve ever witnessed against former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway (23-6-0). Kattar isn’t one to initiate much grappling, but has shown decent wrestling ability with solid takedowns as well as good clinch work. Kattar tends to lull people in, not throwing a ton of punches and utilizing his footwork and head movement, until suddenly unleashing strong combos and then returning to range. Although he is patient, he will engage in big exchanges without getting sloppy. He also has great cardio and can easily go a full five rounds, and has proven to be very tough to put away, having never been knocked out in his career. Giga Chikadze comes into this fight having won all of his last five fights, with impressive victories over UFC mainstays in Cub Swanson (28-12-0) and Edson Barboza (22-10-0). Giga is known for his excellent kickboxing, with great power and speed in his hands and some of the most devastating body kicks in the entire UFC. Training at Kings MMA, Chikadze has a background in kickboxing, going 38-8-0 in his pro kickboxing career with 22 knockouts. Like his opponent, he’s pretty unlikely to take the fight to the ground but has shown good takedown defense and a good ability to work in the clinch. Chikadze has gained some fame for the “Giga Kick,” a moniker given to his brutal body kicks, exemplified by his knockout of Cub Swanson. Giga has proved to be one of the most high level kickboxers in the UFC, and has black belts in both Goju-ryu and Kyokushin Karate. Chikadze is the favorite here, coming in at -240 with Kattar the +200 underdog. I definitely think people are fading Kattar a bit too hard in this fight, as they’re probably a bit afraid to bet on him after his fight with Holloway. Still though, I see Giga taking the victory here. You can have the best chin in the world, but there’s only so much you can do when your liver is being blasted into oblivion. I'‘ll take Chikadze by KO/TKO, and a bit riskier pick in under 2.5 rounds.
Picks: Chikadze by KO/TKO, Under 2.5 rounds