Giga Chikadze vs Cub Swanson Predictions

Fight is at 145 lbs and is -160 to end inside the distance. 

✅ Giga Chikadze is a high end striker that I have been a bit slow to believe was a real MMA prospect. Now that he has four UFC wins in four fights under his belt, I am starting to believe in him. He is truly elevating his MMA game. He has shown better wrestling know-how than I thought he would have entering the UFC. He has also shown an improvement in his hands. He always had a high end kicking game as a kickboxer, but is now boxing at the same level. He will be the more powerful and crisp striker and will come away winning essentially every striking exchange in this UFC Vegas 25 fight. 

✅ With wins and improvements come more difficult opponents. Cub Swanson is a step up in competition for Chikadze, but certainly not one above his station. While the ten-year UFC vet Swanson has won a couple of fights in a row, that was against a dip in level of competition. Swanson had a step up in competition in his previous four fights, and lost them all. Now after a couple of wins, that elevated competition returns, and Swanson will go back to losing, despite a sound and rounded skill set. In my opinion, we would have to go back to Swanson’s 2014 win over Jeremy Stephens to find a win against a fighter the current caliber of Chikadze.

✅ I do not expect to see grappling in this fight, but if we do, it will be Swanson trying to avoid striking that has not gone his way. What we will see is Chikadze gradually pull away and perhaps finish Swanson. With finish and decision wins equally probable, we will just attack the -160 flat line on Chikadze.