UFC Vegas 46 went down last night (Sat., Jan 15, 2022) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event of the evening, Calvin Kattar picked up a huge win by defeating Giga Chikadze after five rounds of action (highlights). In the co-headlining act, Jake Collier proved victorious by submitting Chase Sherman in the very first round (highlights).
Biggest Winner: Calvin Kattar
A year removed from his one-sided beating at the hands of Max Holloway on “Fight Island,” Kattar returned with a vengeance, putting on one of the best performances of his career against one of the hottest fighters in the game today. For five rounds, “The Boston Finisher” went toe-to-toe with Giga Chikadze, who has proven to be one of the best and most aggressive strikers at 145 pounds. Not one to back down, Kattar took all of Giga’s best punches, walked through them and delivered his own. And he never gave an inch, even when he was busted open. If anything all that did was give him a bit more drive to push forward and punish his foe with a striking attack that left Chikadze worse for wear. When it was all said and done, Kattar earned a hard-fought, well-deserved unanimous decision win, snapping Chikadze’s nine-fight win streak in the process.
Runner Up: Jake Collier
Since 2014, Collier has been as consistent as they come. But it’s not necessarily a good thing, though it’s not exactly a bad thing, either. Over the last eight years, Collier has alternated wins and losses, earning an even 5-5 record, nine of those fights inside the Octagon. And like clockwork, Collier continued the tradition by picking up a win fresh off a defeat, this time by submitting fellow hard-hitting big man Chase Sherman in round one of their 265-pound bout. And if you somehow managed to lay some money down on Jake to win via first round submission, your pockets got a bit fatter thanks to these odds.
Biggest Loser: Giga Chikadze
Chikadze got more than he bargained for against Kattar, who snapped his nine-fight win streak and handed him his first loss inside the Octagon. Maybe “Ninja” was still peeved that Featherweight king didn’t take his callout to a title fight serious enough to warrant consideration and didn’t put all his focus on the task at hand. If that was the case, it truly cost him. Now, the No. 7 ranked fighter will have to pick up the pieces after having the steam taken out of his hot streak by a man who was determined to make up for his last defeat. It’s a huge blow for a man many felt had the goods to make a run at the belt, While that may still be the case, he will have to make up a lot of ground following this huge setback.
For complete UFC Vegas 46 results and coverage click here.