Giga Chikadze found his opening in the third round and capitalized Saturday night at UFC on ESPN 30.
Chikadze stopped Edson Barboza in just under two minutes of the round, earning a main event victory live on ESPN and ESPN+. Th event took place from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
With the win, the featherweight cemented his status in the division, stretching his win streak to nine in a row. The last seven of those have coming in the UFC, and the last three by finish.
Two new Ultimate Fighter winners were also crowned, as Bryan Battle claimed the middleweight title and Ricky Turcios the bantamweight tournament.
Battle earned a submission win over Gilbert Urbina and Turcios took a split decision from Brady Hiestand.
Daniel Rodriguez topped Kevin Lee, Andre Petroski finished Micheal Gillmore and Gerald Meerschaert submitted Makhmud Muradov.
On the prelims, Abdul Razak Alhassan, Wellington Turman, Dustin Jacoby, JJ Aldrich, Pat Sabatini and Mana Martinez were all winners.
Turcios and Hiestand earned the “Fight of the Night” bonus with Chikadze, Meerschaert, Alhassan and Sabatini picking up “Performance of the Night” checks.
UFC On ESPN 30: Barboza Vs. Chikadze Results
Giga Chikadze def. Edson Barboza via TKO (strikes) at 1:44 of Round 3
Bryan Battle def. Gilbert Urbina via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:15 of Round 2
Ricky Turcios def. Brady Hiestand via split decision
Daniel Rodriguez def. Kevin Lee via unanimous decision
Andre Petroski def. Micheal Gillmore via TKO (strikes) at 3:12 of Round 3
Gerald Meerschaert def. Makhmud Muradov via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:49 of Round 2
Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Alessio Di Chirico via KO (head kick) at :17 of Round 1
Wellington Turman def. Sam Alvey via split decision
Dustin Jacoby def. Darren Stewart via TKO (strikes) at 3:04 of Round 1
JJ Aldrich def. Vanessa Demopoulos via unanimous decision
Pat Sabatini def. Jamall Emmers via submission (heel hook) at 1:53 of Round 1
Mana Martinez def. Guido Cannetti via split decision