UFC Fight Night 172: Rivera vs Chikadze 05/16/2020 UFC Picks, Predictions and Betting Previews

UFC Fight Night 172: Rivera vs Chikadze 05/16/2020 – The Ultimate Fighting Championship has been an organization that made a bold move to start operations once the sports lockdown started. This is their third fight card since their return last week in UFC 249 as UFC Fight Night 172 will commence this Saturday, May 16. This fight will be held at the closed-door venue at the Vystar Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. There will be no audience but fans can see the fight through Pay Per View and UFC Fight Pass. In the main event, it will be Alistair Overeem facing Walt Harris for some heavyweight action. In the preliminary card, it will be featuring Giga Cikadze going up against the debuting Irwin Rivera. With CHikadze having more experience in the UFC, he is expected to dominate Rivera according to UFC Parlay Betting. 

The 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 of our Jacksonville trio 🌴

It's fight day once again on Saturday! #UFCFL pic.twitter.com/a6zvhe6dDg

— UFC (@ufc) May 14, 2020

Main Card

Irwin Rivera

Irwin Rivera is coming in as a replacement fighter for this match. He is 31-years-old and stands at five-foot-six. He hails from New Windsor, New York City. His professional MMA record now stands at 9-4 with five wins coming from knockouts. Rivera is known as “The Beast” in the ring and he has been waiting for a chance to fight in the UFC by all means. He came from Titan FC where he won three consecutive fights before coming into the organization. His last three matches were all knockouts and his expertise is going straight to the body with his punches. Rivera’s last three opponents were Danny Sabatello, Magy Wagy and Lazar Stojadinovic. Being the replacement fighter, Rivera is out to prove that his quick promotion to fight in the UFC will make his doubters believe that he belongs to the organization.

Giga Chikadze

Giga Chikadze is a 31-year-old light heavyweight fighter that came from the country of Georgia. He stands at six-foot-flat and weighs in at 155 lbs. His stable is at Kings MMA and he has a 9-2 professional MMA record with six wins out of knockouts. Chikadze has made an appearance in Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series but he lost to Austin Springer via rear-naked choke. He had to fight and prove himself in the Gladiator Challenge as he won two fights via knockout and submission. He made his UFC debut in UFC Fight Night 160 and his last fight was against Jamall Emmers in UFC 248 just this March 2020 before the sports lockdown with both victories came from unanimous decisions.