Featherweight contender Giga Chikadze is eager to return to the UFC after over a year of inactivity due to injuries and hopes to fight Brian Ortega in a major summer event.
Giga Chikadze is eager to return to the octagon after being out of action for more than a year due to multiple surgeries for various injuries. Now that he’s healthy, Chikadze hopes to have his next fight booked for one of the major summer cards in the UFC. He noted that talks have started about potentially matching him up against Brian Ortega, as most of the other top 145-pound fighters are already committed. Chikadze and Ortega are currently No. 12 and No. 5 (tied) respectively in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.
Chikadze said, “All the fighters, they have opponents, they’re scheduled with each other. Now we’re waiting for someone to step up. We had the talk with the UFC and they mentioned [Brian] Ortega’s name and I heard that he had intentions to fight me… I was told he likes this fight and he wants to do this in the summer, which I would love to do that as well. I had the same intentions.” He mentioned that while they have a good relationship and multiple friends in common, they are professionals and he would love to test himself against Ortega.
Ortega has been near the top of the featherweight rankings for several years but fell short in two attempts at becoming champion with past fights against Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Most recently, he suffered a first-round TKO loss to Yair Rodriguez due to a painful shoulder injury that forced a stop to the contest. In contrast, Chikadze’s nine-fight win streak came to an end with his recent loss to Calvin Kattar, which has fueled his anticipation to return to the octagon sooner rather than later.
While no formal offer has been made for the matchup between Chikadze and Ortega, Chikadze has expressed interest and heard the same from Ortega’s camp. He said, “I think that’s the fight to make happen… I like it, he likes it, the UFC likes it, I’m sure the fans will enjoy this fight.” Chikadze shared a story of how they first interacted before he even signed with the UFC, meeting through a mutual friend and gambling together in Las Vegas. Despite training at different gyms, they often run into each other and have even shared space at the same recovery center in Huntington Beach, California.