Chikadze-Emmett booked for UFC 296
An already loaded UFC 296 card just got even better.
Top featherweight contenders Giga Chikadze and Josh Emmett will fight on the UFC's final pay-per-view event of the year on Dec. 16, the promotion announced Wednesday, according to TSN's Aaron Bronsteter.
Chikadze sits at No. 10 in the 145-pound rankings, while Emmett is No. 6.
The Georgian fighter suffered his first loss since 2018 to Calvin Kattar in January 2022 before bouncing back against Alex Caceres in August following an 18-month layoff.
Chikadze had appeared to be on the path to title contention after winning his first seven UFC fights prior to the Kattar defeat.
Meanwhile, Emmett's own hopes of seeing UFC gold have taken a hit of late.
The American lost an interim title fight to Yair Rodriguez via submission in February before losing to rising star Ilia Topuria in June. He earned the bout against Rodriguez after winning five straight fights.
A welterweight title fight between champion Leon Edwards and Colby Covington headlines UFC 296, while a flyweight title clash between champion Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval will serve as the co-main event.
The event also boasts Shavkat Rakhmonov versus Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson, Tony Ferguson versus Paddy Pimblett, and Vicente Luque versus Ian Garry.