The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to UFC Apex today for UFC on ESPN 32: “Kattar vs Chikadze.” The first UFC card of 2022 featured a featherweight headliner between Calvin “The Boston Finisher” Kattar and Giga “Ninja” Chikadze, as both men looked to move closer to a title shot.
In the heavyweight co-main event, Jake “The Prototype” Collier faced off against Chase “The Vanilla Gorilla” Sherman. Elsewhere on the main card tonight, Brandon “Raw Dawg” Royval took on Rogério Bontorin in flyweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for UFC on ESPN 32.
Calvin “The Boston Finisher” Kattar vs Giga “Ninja” Chikadze
Round 1:
Punches were exchanged right away and Chikadze landed a leg kick and a front kick. Kattar pressed the action, but Chikadze countered with straight lefts and a liver kick. Kattar took Chikadze down and he threw short punches and forearm strikes from Chikadze’s half-guard. Chikadze finally scrambled from the bottom and tried to stand up, but Kattar held his back and pulled him down. Chikadze rolled to his back and held Kattar in a guillotine choke. Kattar escaped and the fighters battled for top position, with Kattar ultimately securing an arm-triangle choke from the bottom. Chikadze turned to his side and gave up his back, and Kattar maintained back control until the bell. 10-9 Kattar.
Round 2:
Chikadze kicked at Kattar’s liver and upper body in the second round. He followed up with a one-two combo and Kattar countered with an uppercut and a right hook. He walked Chikadze down with right hooks and briefly knocked him off-balance with a left. Chikadze jabbed and Kattar clipped him with a three-punch combo. More jabs scored for Chikadze and he thwarted a Kattar takedown attempt. Kattar landed a big left hook and Chikadze circled away. Kattar followed with two standing elbows to Chikadze’s jaw and Chikadze jabbed while backing up. Chikadze landed a flurry, but Kattar countered with a spinning back elbow. More punches were exchanged and Kattar took Chikadze down. The round ended with Kattar landing right hands as Chikadze stood up. Closer round. Still 10-9 Kattar.
Round 3:
Kattar jabbed and he landed short uppercuts while pressing forward and forcing Chikadze to back up. Kattar landed jab-cross combos and Chikadze just took them while backing up with his hands down. Chikadze finally landed two leg kicks and an overhand right. Kattar remained the aggressor, but his output did begin to slow down. He still landing a step-in elbow that opened a cut on the bridge of Chikadze’s nose. Kattar jabbed at the cut and landed a right hook, but Chikadze answered with three punches and Kattar was briefly stunned. He recovered very quickly and countered a late combination from Chikadze with a spinning backfist. Another close round. 10-9 Kattar.
Round 4:
Jab after jab scored for Kattar in the fourth round as blood poured down Chikadze’s face again. Chikadze shrugged off a clinch attempt from Kattar, but he remained on the defensive as Kattar walked him down with more jabs. Kattar landed a left hook and an uppercut, then grabbed on to Chikadze’s leg. Chikadze balanced and punched his way free of Kattar’s grip. Kattar landed slashing elbows and hard jabs as Chikadze’s face became a bloody mess. In the final seconds, Kattar landed two hooks and another slashing elbow that caused Chikadze to lose his footing, but he regained his balance before the bell. 10-9 Kattar.
Round 5:
Chikadze started strong in the final round with a flurry of punches and a body kick. Kattar resumed jabbing and Chikadze was put on the defensive again. More jabs and two elbows scored for Kattar, who followed that with two hooks and one more elbow. Chikadze connected with a right hook and Kattar narrowly missed with a spinning back elbow. Chikadze landed a body kick and Kattar continued to batter his face with jabs and right hands. A spinning back elbow stunned Chikadze, but he recovered quickly and both men landed jabs. Kattar landed two big right hooks, then rocked and dropped Chikadze with a series of elbows to both sides of his face. Time expired just as he dove in with punches on the ground. 10-9 Kattar. Could be a 10-8 due to the final sequence.
Winner: Calvin Kattar by Unanimous Decision (50-44, 50-45, 50-45) after five rounds. He improves to 23-5-0.
Jake “The Prototype” Collier vs Chase “The Vanilla Gorilla” Sherman
Round 1:
Collier landed an early overhand right and he closed in on Sherman with left and right hooks. Sherman stayed calm and he landed a hard uppercut as Collier moved forward. Collier tripped Sherman and passed to mount. Sherman could not buck him off and Sherman cut him on the forehead with elbows. Sherman gave up his back and Collier secured a rear-naked choke with his forearm. Sherman briefly held on before tapping out.
Winner: Jake Collier by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:26 of round one. He improves to 13-6-0.
Brandon “Raw Dawg” Royval vs Rogério Bontorin
Round 1:
Royval threw two body kicks early in the fight, but Bontorin countered the second one with a leg kick and Royval fell. He quickly returned to his feet and landed a body kick and a lead right hook. Royval continued to land quick kicks and Bontorin stuck to boxing as he countered with a left-right combo. Bontorin took Royval down into side control and he prevented Royval from standing up. Royval got back to full guard and kicked Bontorin off. On the feet, Royval landed leg and body kicks. Bontorin took his back and dragged him down, but Royval rolled to his back and postured for an omoplata and a triangle choke. Bontorin punched from the top and Royval battled back to his feet. Close round. 10-9 Bontorin, just barely.
Round 2:
Bontorin caught another kick from Royval and took him down right away in the second round. He moved to Royval’s back and hunted for a rear-naked choke until Royval rolled to his right. Bontorin wound up in Royval’s full guard and he postured up with a big hammerfist strike to Royval’s face. Royval got to his feet and managed to break free from the clinch. Bontorin wobbled him with a lead left hook and then took Royval down into back control again. Royval stood against the cage and Bontorin tripped him again. Royval escaped from a rear-naked choke and stood up. Bontorin landed two overhand lefts and he slammed Royval down to the mat. 10-9 Bontorin.
Round 3:
Royval pressed forward with a knee and a right hand in round three, but Bontorin cracked him with three counter hooks that backed Royval up momentarily. He caught a Royval kick and tripped him, but Royval was able to get back to his feet. Bontorin ducked into a knee from Royval, but he was still able to get him down. Royval locked on an armbar from the bottom that had Bontorin in some trouble, but Bontorin freed his arm and passed to side control. Royval swept from the bottom and he threw short left hands to Bontorin’s face. Late in the round, Royval postured up with punches and elbows to Bontorin’s face. 10-9 Royval.
Winner: Brandon Royval by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 13-6-0.
Katlyn “Blonde Fighter” Chookagian vs Jennifer Maia
Round 1:
Maia landed early jabs and Chookagian fired back with a one-two before ducking under a Maia right hook. Maia landed two leg kicks and an overhand right, but Chookagian knocked her off-balance with a front kick to the body. Chookagian jabbed and ate a hard leg kick. She followed up on a combination by taking Maia down into half-guard. Chookagian passed to side control and threw shoulder strikes to Maia’s face. She tried to pass to mount, but Maia got her knees in and elevated Chookagian off of her. The round ended in a clinch on the feet. 10-9 Chookagian.
Round 2:
Right hands were exchanged to begin the second round and Chookagian secured a body lock as she held Maia against the fence. The fighters separated after trading knees to the body and Maia landed a left hook and a leg kick. The punch opened a cut above Chookagian’s right eye and more knees were exchanged during a brief clinch. Maia charged at Chookagian and Chookagian countered with an uppercut while circling to her right. Maia landed a combination and Chookagian answered with a knee and a head kick. Maia ducked into another knee and she attempted a throw, but gave up her back in the process. Chookagian sunk in both hooks and stayed on Maia’s back. 10-9 Chookagian.
Round 3:
Chookagian kept Maia at bay with jabs and left-right combos in the final round. She caught a body kick, but Maia pulled her leg free and landed a quick one-two. Chookagian answered with a jab-cross combo and a knee. She followed with a lead left hook and more one-twos. Maia had her best success with leg kicks, but Chookagian began to land some of her own and that kept Maia guessing in the exchanges. Chookagian snapped Maia’s head back with a hard jab and blocked a body kick. A big combination scored for Chookagian and Maia began to bleed from beside her right eye. 10-9 Chookagian.
Winner: Katlyn Chookagian by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. She improves to 17-4-0.
Viacheslav “Slava” Borshchev vs Dakota Bush
Round 1:
Bush struck first with a hard overhand right, but Borshchev was unfazed and he closed in with a combination and a knee. Bush took him down, but he lost the position when trying to transition to an arm-triangle choke. On the feet, Bush wobbled Borshchev with a knee and a backfist, but Borshchev recovered and landed a counter left hook that stumbled Bush momentarily. Bush took Borshchev down into back control, but Borshchev shook him off and took top position. He briefly punched from the top until Bush rose to his feet. As the fighters clinched against the cage, Borshchev took a step back and landed a vicious left hook to Bush’s liver. Bush dropped like a rock and Borshchev landed three follow-up hammerfists before the fight was stopped.
Winner: Viacheslav Borshchev by KO (Punch To The Body) at 3:47 of round one. He improves to 6-1-0.
Bill “Senor Perfecto” Algeo vs Joanderson “Tubarão” Brito
Round 1:
Brito missed with a looping right hook and he clinched with Algeo against the cage. Brito took Algeo down, but Algeo got back to his feet. Brito picked him up and slammed him down, then took Algeo’s back and sunk in both hooks. He worked for rear-naked chokes until Algeo turned over into Brito’s guard. Brito postured for an armbar from the bottom and then scrambled up to his feet. He was unable to take Algeo down, but landed a knee to the body on the break. Brito landed a one-two and Algeo countered with a knee as Brito clinched. Algeo landed a front kick to the chest before the bell. 10-9 Brito.
Round 2:
Algeo stuffed a takedown and landed a combination early in round two. He stunned Brito with a right hook, but Brito recovered and he shot in for a takedown. Algeo defended well and he landed a solid left hook as the fighters separated. Brito connected with two hooks and Algeo cracked him with big punches in return. Two more power hooks landed for Brito and he shot in for a takedown. Once again, Algeo sprawled and he wound up on top in side control. Brito ate short elbows from Algeo, but he battled back to his feet and Algeo threw knees to the body in a clinch. In the final minute, the fighters traded power hooks and Algeo landed a knee to the body. 10-9 Algeo.
Round 3:
The final round began with another punching flurry from Brito, who backed Algeo up momentarily with a hard jab. Brito kept the pressure on with right hands and leg kicks as Algeo jabbed in return. He took Brito’s back in a clinch, but Brito turned into it and the fighters separated. Algeo grazed with a high knee and Brito kicked at his lead leg. Time was briefly called when Algeo was poked in the eye, but the fight continued and Brito landed more leg kicks. Algeo jabbed and Brito scored with a right hook that led to a clinch. Algeo got Brito down into side control and he took Brito’s back after landing two elbows. He scored with two more elbows in the final seconds and appeared to steal the round with the ground control. 10-9 Algeo.
Winner: Bill Algeo by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 15-6-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)