FILE – Giga Chikadze (L)of Georgia celebrates after defeating Irwin Rivera (R) of the United States in their Featherweight bout during UFC Fight Night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on May 16, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images/AFP
Giga Chikadze defeated Brazilian Edson Barboza via third-round TKO on Saturday night in their featherweight main event at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.
The referee ended the fight at 1:44 of the third round after the Georgian stunned Barboza with a punch and finished him off with a flurry on the floor.
Chikadze paid tribute to Barboza afterward.
“Shoutout to one of the best fighters ever, Edson Barboza. You motivated me, brother, when I was a kickboxer,” he said.
The victory was Chikadze’s third straight TKO. He improved to 14-2.
Chikadze ended the bout with 70 total strikes to Barboza’s 33. Barboza dropped to 22-10.
Chikadze’s notoriety has grown over his powerful Giga Kick, but he let it be known that’s not all he does.
“I’m not just a kicker guy, I kick the s— out of people,” Chikadze said afterward.
In an earlier bout, Bryan Battle won by submission over Gilbert Urbina in their middleweight bout. Battle ended their battle with a rear naked choke at 2:15 of Round 2. Urbina had been controlling the fight to that point, including two takedowns and landing more strikes.
Other winners on the main card included Ricky Turcios, Daniel Rodriguez, Andre Petroski and Gerald Meerschaert.