UFC president, Dana White praised Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze for their fight which served as the first UFC main event of 2022.
Kattar and Chikadze had a very fan-friendly striking fight as both men landed heavy shots. In the end, it was Kattar winning a decision and after the fight, White had nothing but praise for both men.
“That was an absolute war,” UFC president Dana White said at the UFC Vegas 46 post-fight press conference. The first fight of the year and a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate already. That’s the way to start it. That’s the way to start the year. It was incredible. And you know what’s funny … it’s almost like everybody forgot about Calvin Kattar [after] Max Holloway. You know what I mean? A lot of people were counting him out tonight — and he looked unbelievable.”
White also was blown away by how good Kattar looked, especially as this was his first fight in a year. At the beginning of 2021, he lost to Max Holloway by decision in a complete beatdown, and a year later, he did the same to Chikadzw.
Dana White Praises ‘Absolute War’ Between Calvin Kattar And Giga Chikadze
“That guy’s an absolute dog, man,” White said. “Now if you look at the fights that he’s had in the UFC, but specifically now Holloway and Giga, he’s a special kind of guy. He’s a f*cking warrior, man. [Kattar] kept constant pressure on him, he stayed in his face, he kept moving him backward, and it looked like Giga was out of it halfway through the second round.”
Calvin Kattar’s win also put the end to the talk that Giga Chikadze should’ve gotten the title shot against Alexander Volkanovski. Chikadze was vocal in thinking he deserved the title shot and said he was going to prove it but in the end, he came up short and he will be back to the drawing board.
