According to the authoritative news publication ESPN, Edson Barboza and Giga Chikadze have agreed to headline a Fight Night card on August 28 at a location TBD, the fight has not been officially signed, however. It’s likely the event will take place at the UFC Apex.
Edson Barboza (22-9) is on a two-fight winning streak and coming off a spectacular KO win over Shane Burgos at UFC 252. Prior to that, he earned a decision win over Makwan Amirkhani to get his first featherweight win. In his 145lbs debut he dropped a split decision to Dan Ige. Before the win over Amirkhani, Barboza was just 1-5 in his last six with the lone win being over Dan Hooker and losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kevin Lee, Justin Gaethje, Paul Felder, and Ige. He also holds notable wins over Felder, Anthony Pettis, and Beneil Dariush among others. Barboza is currently ranked ninth at featherweight.
Giga Chikadze (13-2) is undefeated in the UFC and coming off a first-round liver kick KO win over Cub Swanson. The victory put him at 10 in the featherweight ranks as he built off a phenomenal 2020 where he went 4-0. In his UFC career, he holds notable wins over Jammall Emmers, Omar Morales, and Brandon Davis.
This is a phenomenal fight where the winner between Barboza and Chikadze will likely get a top-five opponent. This will be the first time Chikadze has the opportunity to go five rounds. It is a scrap he has been calling for, for over a year.