Many sports leagues choose to take a vacation break over the Christmas season. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is one of those organizations, with a one-month hiatus between events.
Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus, commonly known as UFC Vegas 45, was the final event on the UFC’s 2021 schedule. Lewis was stopped in the first round. After the holiday break, the next UFC event is Fight Night: Kattar vs. Chikadze, commonly known as UFC Vegas 46. It will be shown on ESPN+ on January 15th. The preliminary card is set to begin at 3 p.m. ET, with the main card following at 5 p.m. ET.
The main event is a featherweight encounter between Calvin Kattar, the fifth-ranked fighter, and Giga Chikadze, the eighth-ranked fighter. Despite being the lower-ranked fighter, Chikadze is a clear favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, with odds of -210 to win.
The rest of the card has a long list of fights, but only two are known to be on the main card. On UFC.com, Kattar-Chikadze and a welterweight fight between 15th ranked Muslim Salikhov and Michael Pereira Lima are billed as important events.
All of the fights below have odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook. A bantamweight match between Raoni Barcelos and Victor Henry is also listed on MMA Mania, but there are no odds at DKSB yet.
With UFC Vegas 45 last weekend, the UFC completed its 2021 schedule and is currently on a month-long Christmas vacation. The sport will return to action on January 15th with UFC Vegas 46, also known as Fight Night: Kattar vs. Chikadze.
UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane, which takes place a week later on January 22nd, is the next PPV on the program. The preliminary card will begin at roughly 6 p.m. ET, with the main card following at 10 p.m. ET. ET. Francis Ngannou, the heavyweight champion, will meet Ciryl Gane, the No. 1 contender, in about that is slated to start after midnight.
Ngannou is making his first defense of the heavyweight championship he won by knocking out Stipe Miocic in the second round at UFC 260 in March. He’s won five consecutive bouts in the UFC, with the Miocic triumph avenging a decision defeat at UFC 220 in January 2018. Gane is competing in the UFC for the eighth time and is undefeated. He is a -115 favorite to win at DraftKings Sportsbook, while Ngannou is a -105 favorite.
Brandon Moreno will defend his flyweight championship for the third time in a row against Deiveson Figueiredo on the same card. In an attempt for the then-vacant flyweight championship, the two battled to a draw at UFC 256 in December 2020. Moreno won the rematch with a rear-naked choke submission in the third round at UFC 263 in June.
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Main Card
#5 Calvin Kattar (+175) vs. #8 Giga Chikadze (-210), featherweight
#15 Muslim Salikhov (+105) vs. Michael Pereira Lima (-125), welterweight
Main, Preliminary Card
Katlyn Chookagian (-160) vs. Jennifer Maia (+140), flyweight
Brandon Royval (-170) vs. Rogerio Bontorin (+150), flyweight
Brian Kelleher (+135) vs. Saidyokub Kakhramonov (-155), bantamweight
Chase Sherman (+105) vs. Jake Collier (-125), heavyweight
Joaquin Buckley (-145) vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan (+125), middleweight
Court McGree (-110) vs. Ramiz Brahimaj (-110), welterweight
Kleydson Rodrigues (-250) vs. Zarrukh Adashev (+200), flyweight
Bill Algeo (+100) vs. Joanderson Sa de Brito (-120), featherweight
Caio Borralho (-255) vs. Jamie Pickett (+205), light heavyweight
Dakota Bush (+170) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (-200), lightweight
Vanessa Demopoulos (+100) vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez (-120)flyweight
T.J. Brown (+170) vs. Gabriel Benitez (-200), featherweight
Calvin Kattar
In the main card entry, Calvin Kattar will be the key player to start the bout rallies. Calvin Kattar is a mixed martial artist from the United States who competes in the UFC Featherweight class. In 2007, he made his professional debut for the now-defunct EliteXC MMA company in the United States. He is presently rated #11 in the UFC Featherweight division and has won the Fight of the Night award once.
The Boston Finisher created his UFC debut on July 29, 2017, at UFC 214, commutation South Korean fighter Doo metallic element Choi on the Preliminary Card (FXX), wherever he defeated Andre Fili by unanimous decision. At UFC 220, Kattar faced Shane Burgos, who was undefeated at the time and won by KO within the third round. He received the Bout of the Night bonus award for the fight.
Calvin then lost his debut fight at UFC 223 against Brazilian superstar Renato Moicano. He was defeated by a unanimous decision. He subsequently went on to defeat Chris Fishgold and Ricardo Lamas in his following two contests.
