Kicking off the 2022 UFC calendar is a fight night between 5th ranked Calvin Kattar and 8th ranked Giga Chikadze.
In this article, I will be giving you guys the facts on every fight on this card.
Jamie Pickett Vs Joseph Holmes
Kicking off the card we have a middleweight bout between 12-6 Jamie Pickett taking on 7-1 Joseph Holmes who is making his UFC debut.
Holmes is a -150 favourite, and Pickett is a +120 underdog.
Holmes is currently on a 7 fight win streak after losing his professional debut back Bellator 218.
All of Holmes wins have come via stoppage 5 submission and 2 knockouts.
Pickett is currently 1-2 in UFC and is coming off a unanimous decision victory against Laureano Staropoli.
The two losses are against Jordan Wright via 1st round TKO and Tafon Nchukwi via unanimous decision.
Pickett has 8 knockouts, 1 submission and 3 decision victories.
Looking at the tale of the tape Holmes is 6FT4 and Pickett is 6FT2. They both have an 80-inch reach.
Great opening bout Holmes has looked amazing on the regional scene and his size has given everyone problems.
TJ Brown Vs Gabriel Benitez
In the 2nd bout of the night, we have a featherweight bout between 15-8 TJ Brown and 22-9 Gabriel Benitez.
Benitez is a -190 favourite (Brown is a +155 underdog) and is 6-5 in the UFC.
He’s 8 knockouts, 10 submissions and 4 decision victories.
Benitez has also fought some decent competition in the UFC including Billy Quarantillo, and Sodiq Yusuff.
He also holds a win over Clay Collard.
Brown is 1-2 in the UFC he has just come off a victory to Kai Kamaka.
Brown has 4 knockouts, 9 submissions and 2 decision victories.
Looking at the tale of the tape Brown is 5FT9 and has a 73.5-inch reach.
Benitez is 5FT8 and has a 71-inch reach.
Both fighters have a high finishing percentage and Benitez has 3 post-fight bonuses so its going to be an interesting fight.
Vanessa Demopoulos Vs Silvana Gomez Juarez
In the 3rd bout of the night, we have a strawweight bout between 6-4 Vanessa Demopoulos and 10-3 Silvana Gomez Juarez.
It is an even-money fight between the two fighters -115 odds.
Demopoulos is 0-1 in the UFC.
She has 1 knockout 3 submissions and 2 decision victories.
Her lone UFC fight was against JJ Aldrich at flyweight.
Juarez is also 0-1 in the UFC.
She has 6 knockouts 2 submissions and 2 decision victories.
Her lone fight was against Lupita Godinez.
Looking at the tale of the tape.
Demopoulos is 5ft2 and has a 62-inch reach is she also coming back down from flyweight.
Juarez is 5FT3 and has a 63-inch reach.
Both fighters need a victory in this fight because I think the loser will get cut.
Women’s 125lbs is filling with prospects quickly and there isn’t any room for fighters with negative UFC records.
ALSO READ: [BREAKING] Khamzat Chimaev And Gilbert Burns Agree To Fight
Brian Kelleher Vs Saidyokub Kakhramonov
In the 4th bout of the night, we have a bantamweight bout between 23-12 Brian Kelleher and 9-2 Saidyokub Kakhramonov.
Kakhramonov is a -155 favourite and Kelleher is a +135 underdog.
Kakhramonov is 1-0 in the UFC and has a 3rd round guillotine choke over Trevin Jones.
He has 3 knockouts 4 submissions and 2 decisions victories.
Kelleher is 7-5 in the UFC.
He has 8 knockouts 10 submissions and 5 decision victories.
Kelleher has also taken on some decent level UFC competition.
Fights include John Lineker, Renan Barao, Cody Staman and Ricky Simon.
Looking a the tale of the tape Kakhramonov is 5FT8 and has a 69-inch reach.
Kelleher is 5FT6 and has a 64-inch reach.
This is a great challenge for Kakhramonov, Kelleher is just outside the top 15 if he can beat him he’ll be ready to face a ranked opponent next fight.
Let’s hope Kakhramonov can make weight this time around.
Dakota Bush Vs Viacheslav Borshchev
In the 5th bout of the night, we have a lightweight bout between 8-3 Dakota Bush and 5-1 Viacheslav Borshchev.
Borshchev is -180 favourite and Bush is a +150 underdog.
Bush is 0-1 in the UFC.
He has 2 knockouts 4 submissions and 2 decision victories all the submissions are by rear-naked choke.
Borshchev is making his UFC debut after a knockout victory on the contender series over 7-0 Scottish stand out Chris Duncan.
He has 4 knockouts and 1 decision victory. Looking at the tale of the Bush is 5FT10 and has a 73-inch reach, and Borshchev is 5FT11 and has a 69 inch reach.
It looks like we are getting a striker vs grappler fight here, Borshchev is extremely exciting to watch would recommend you check this fight out.
Ramiz Brahimaj Vs Court McGee
The 6th bout of the night we have a welterweight bout between 9-3 Ramiz Brahimaj and 20-10 Court McGee.
It is a near-even fight McGee is a -120 favourite and Brahimaj is a +100 underdog.
McGee is 9-9 in the UFC.
He has 5 knockouts, 5 submissions and 10 decision victories.
Brahimaj is 1-1 in the UFC.
All 9 of his victories are by submission.
Brahimaj won IBJJF no-gi worlds at blue belt in 2019.
Looking at the tale of the tape.
Brahimaj is 5FT10 and has a 73-inch reach, and McGee is 5FT11 and has a 75.5-inch reach.
McGee is a legend in MMA at this point he is extremely tough and hard to finish.
It’s also important to note he has never been submitted in any of his fights.
He has fought some high-level grapplers like Claudio Silva, Sean Brady and Jeremy Horn.
Joanderson Brito Vs Bill Algeo
Opening up the main card we have a featherweight bout between 12-2-1 Joanderson Brito and 14-6 Bill Algeo.
Brito is a -125 favourite and Algeo is a +105 underdog.
Brito is making his UFC debut after fighting on the Contender Series beating Diego Lopes. He has 5 knockouts, 5 submissions and 2 decision victories.
Algeo is 1-2 in the UFC but has faced some high featherweight competition in Ricardo Lamas and Ricardo Ramos losing both.
He has 3 knockouts, 6 submissions and 5 decision victories.
Looking at the tale of the tape.
Brito is 5FT8 and has a 72-inch reach and Algeo is 6FT and has a 73.5 inch.
I’m always interested in the fighters that have come from the contender series and what they can bring to the UFC.
We have an exciting match up here both fighters are extremely aggressive and push the pace.
Chase Sherman Vs Jake Collier
In the 2nd fight of the main card, we have a heavyweight bout between 15-8 Chase Sherman, and 12-6 Jake Collier.
Collier is a -125 favourite and Sherman is a +105 underdog.
Collier is 4-5 in the UFC. He has 5 knockouts 3 submissions and 4 decision victories.
Sherman is 3-7 in UFC over multiple stints in the UFC.
Sherman has 14 knockouts and 1 decision victory.
Looking at the tale of the tape.
Collier is 6FT3 and has a 78.5-inch reach and Sherman is 6FT4 and has a 78-inch reach.
Sherman will absolutely have the power advantage in this as he is a natural heavyweight.
Collier career begin at middleweight then moved to light heavyweight.
Now he’s at the limit of the heavyweight division frequently weighing in at 264 pounds.
Brandon Royval Vs Rogerio Bontorin
In the featured bout, we have two ranked flyweights we have 5th ranked Brandon Royval and 7th ranked Rogerio Bontorin.
Royval is a -165 favourite and Bontorin is a +140 underdog.
He’s 2-2 in the UFC only fighting the highest-ranked opponents. In his 4 UFC fights, he has fought Tim Elliot, Kai Kara France, Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja.
Royval is on a 2 fight losing streak.
He has 3 knockouts 8 submissions and 1 decision victory.
Bontorin is 4-2 in the UFC beating Raulian Paiva and Matt Schnell.
He has 3 knockouts 11 submissions and 3 decision victories.
Looking at the tale of the tape Royval is 5FT9 and has a 70.5-inch reach and Bontorin is 5FT5 and has a 67-inch reach.
In his last fight, Bontorin stepped in on one month notice to face Matt Schnell at UFC 262.
The bout was scheduled up at bantamweight, and Bontorin still missed the 136-pound limit coming in at 137 pounds.
This leads me to wonder how heavy Bontorin gets in between fights and how long he’ll be fighting at flyweight for.
None the less this is a great fight between two high-level grapplers, and both fights are needed a big performance to stay relevant in the flyweight division.
Katlyn Chookagian Vs Jennifer Maia
In the co-main event, we have two ranked women’s flyweights.
We have 2nd ranked Katlyn Chookagian and 4th ranked Jennifer Maia.
Chookagian is a -170 favourite and Maia is a +140 underdog.
Chookagian is 9-4 in the UFC and already holds a unanimous decision victory over Jennifer Maia.
Outlanding Maia 109 strikes to 74 strikes.
Chookagian is also on a two-fight win streak against Cynthia Calvillo and Viviane Araujo.
She has 2 knockouts 1 submission and 13 decision victories.
Maia is 3-3 in the UFC.
She has 4 knockouts 5 submissions and 10 decision victories.
Looking at the tale of the tape Chookagian is 5FT9 and has a 68-inch reach and Maia is 5FT4 and has a 64-inch reach.
Both fighters have already fought and lost to the champion Valentina, It’s not the most interesting match at flyweight but I think both fighters just wanted to remain active.
Calvin Kattar Vs Giga Chikadze
In the main event, we have 5th ranked Calvin Kattar and 8th ranked Giga Chikadze.
Chikadze is the biggest favourite on the card at -250 and Kattar a +215 underdog.
Chikadze is 7-0 in the UFC showing his best form to date with knockout victories over Edson Barboza and Cub Swanson in his last two fights.
He has 9 knockouts 1 submission and 4 decision victories.
Kattar is 6-3 in the UFC.
He lost his last fight to Max Holloway.
Where he absorbed 445 significant strikes the most in UFC history and brings into question how durability to Kattar lose in that fight?
Kattar does have wins over Dan Ige and Jeremy Stephens.
He has 11 knockouts 2 submissions and decision victories.
Looking a the tale of the tape Kattar is 5FT11 and has a 72-inch reach and Chikadze is 6FT and has a 74-inch reach.
Giga looks like he is on a run to the top of the diversion looking better in every fight.
I expect Kattar to wrestle against Chikadze because of the vast striking difference between the two.
I give the power edge in the hands to Kattar.
But every other striking metric I give to Chikadze he has better kicks, better footwork, and better range management.
But Kattar is super tough never being knocked out in his MMA career.
So don’t count him out too quickly.
ALSO READ: BJJ Gi Buyers Guide | All You Need To Know
I’m a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and I write about the latest in all things martial arts.
[UPDATE] Dustin Poirier Vs Nate Diaz In 2022 | Could It Happen?
[BREAKING] Timur Valiev Replaces Umar Nurmagomedov Against Jack Shore
[RUMORED] Askar Askarov Vs Kai Kara-France | UFC Fight Night
[BREAKING] Ryan Spann Faces Off With Ion Cutelaba | UFC Fight Night
[RESULTS] Rizin 33 | All The Action
[OPINION] Fights To Make In Each UFC Division In 2022
Rafael dos Anjos Vs Rafael Fiziev Set For Main Event | UFC
Derrick Lewis Vs Tai Tuivasa | UFC 271
