This Saturday the UFC returns after a nearly month-long layoff with its first event of 2022, UFC Vegas 46. Though it isn’t the deepest UFC betting card, this weekend’s event has a couple of very important bouts and serves as the perfect appetizer to next weekend’s UFC 270 Pay-Per-View.

Chief among those bouts is the main event, which features top-10 fighters Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze battling for a chance at a title shot in the talent-rich featherweight division. Let's take an in-depth look at the bout and make some UFC picks.

Calvin Kattar vs. Giga Chikadze Odds

Favorite	Underdog
Giga Chikadze, -240 ➜	Calvin Kattar, +195 ➜

Odds via DraftKings and current as of publication. Check out our DraftKings promo code page for the latest deals.

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Calvin Kattar vs. Giga Chikadze Analysis

Hailing from Metheun, Massachusetts, Kattar is a classic blue-collar scrapper. In possession of solid boxing, excellent cardio, and the ability to absorb a ridiculous amount of punishment and remain undeterred, Kattar has become one of the most exciting fighters in the featherweight division.

He’s also been able to stack up wins over some of the best competition the UFC has to offer. However, if there is one major Achilles heel for “The Boston Finisher”, it’s that he has consistently fallen short when matched against the elite of the elite, and that’s exactly what Giga Chikadze is here to prove.

Chikadze trained karate in his youth before moving to the Netherlands where he began competing in kickboxing. Though Chikadze did make it all the way up to the ranks of Glory (the largest kickboxing organization in the world), he never could find much traction in the sport and soon pivoted to MMA full-time in 2017. Since then, things have been going gangbusters and after joining the UFC in 2019, Chikadze has won seven in a row on the back of his refined kickboxing game and his devastating “Giga Kick.”

Kattar vs. Chikadze Best Bet

This is a classic battle of an overachieving divisional stalwart against a super-talented up-and-comer and in those contests, it pays to bet on talent. Kattar has faced more talented opponents and flashed the more well-rounded game but in the end, this contest will mostly be a striking affair and Chikadze is simply much better and more diverse on the feet than Kattar.

Perhaps worst of all though, is that Kattar is unreasonably tough and so even though I expect him to get lit up with kicks, he’ll probably hang around until the bitter end. I like a bet on Chikadze by decision at +333 on FOX Bet. ➜ Make sure to check out all the betting apps and betting sites to secure the best odds.

Other UFC Vegas 46 Bets To Back

Katlyn Chookagian vs. Jennifer Maia: The co-main event of UFC Vegas 46 is arguably a more important fight than the main event (though certainly less beloved), as second-ranked Katlyn Chookagian takes on fourth-ranked Jennifer Maia in a battle of women who have already come up short against flyweight Queen Valentina Shevchenko. These two women have already faced each other once, back in 2019, and Chookagian was able to take home a clear victory over Maia. Things should go no different here. I like a bet on Chookagian by decision at -110 on FanDuel. ➜ Following the launch of online sports betting in New York, new users at FanDuel NY can get a risk-free first bet worth up to $1,000 to use on the UFC card this weekend.

Brandon Royval vs. Rogerio Bontorin: In a pivotal flyweight bout, fifth-ranked Royval looks to bounce back from a two-loss skid with a win over seventh-ranked Bontorin. Both men can do a bit of everything but Royval is the more active fighter and a much more dynamic grappler. I like Royval’s chances to score takedowns and potentially lock up a submission in transition so the suggested bet at sportsbooks for this bout is Royval by Submission or Decision at -110 on FanDuel. ➜