4 biggest takeaways from UFC on ESPN 32: Calvin Kattar takes the Giga train off its tracks

What mattered most at UFC on ESPN 32 in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …

1. Calvin Kattar's amazing bounce back

There was much concern around [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] entering his main event with Giga Chikadze.

No one knew exactly how Kattar (23-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) would respond to his historically lopsided beatdown against Max Holloway one year ago, especially against an opponent in Chikadze who was red-hot in the featherweight division.

Anyone skeptical about Kattar’s ability to come back and win this fight were warranted in their position, but boy, did Kattar ever prove those people wrong.

It’s hard to ask for much more than what Kattar brought to the table. He had insane pressure for all five rounds and inflicted a hellacious beatdown on Chikadze to secure the unanimous decision win, flipping the script from his previous bout against Holloway and taking his turn to dish out all the punishment.

The performance thrusted Kattar right back in the 145-pound title conversation, and he and his team at the New England Cartel deserve much applause for taking the correct steps to ensure he could get back to this position.

Whatever pent up aggression Kattar had built up being on the sidelines for the past 12 months came out on Chikadze’s face. The win set Kattar up for another big fight, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can carry this type of effort over into the next one.

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2. Giga Chikadze's violent stumble

We should’ve seen this coming for [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag]. He tempted the MMA God’s over and over leading up to fight night, and ultimately succumbed to a situation that’s derailed many others before him.

Every time Chikadze (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) spoke about Kattar prior to sharing the octagon, he paid his respect and said he knew how tough this fight would be. Unfortunately, the majority of the quotes coming out of his mouth were not about Kattar at all.

Instead, Chikadze spoke frequently about his desire to get the featherweight title shot against Alexander Volkanovski after Max Holloway fell out. Then, when Chan Sung Jung was selected to step in at UFC 273, he vented about why the promotion should’ve waited for his fight with Kattar to play out before booking the next title bout

Chikadze deserves praise for his willingness to talk openly about his wants. He single-handedly made this fight week interesting, and added stakes to the fight with Kattar. He couldn’t deliver on the back end of it, though, and because of that he’s going to get the scorn of fans and critics.

It’s not like he lost be a narrow margin, either. Chikadze was thoroughly dominated and his face was massacred with cuts. He’ll be wearing the damage from this one for a while, and it’s the type of loss that will force him to reevaluate things.

Chikadze is still a force and showed the world his offensive firepower is backed by insane toughness and durability. However, Kattar showed him his current ceiling, and it’s on Chikadze to figure out how to bounce back stronger.