It's Showtime May 21st Preview: Evgeniy Kurovskoy vs. Giga Chikadze

Thursday, 19 May 2011 22:00

Written by Rian Scalia

Opening up the main card just a week after It's Showtime's Lyon event, Russian Evgeniy Kurovskoy takes on Georgian Giga Chikadze.

Evgeniy Kurovskoy is a -70kg fighter from Russia who now trains out of the Chakuriki Gym under legendary trainer Thom Harinck. Holding just one loss to his name, Kurovskoy looks to move up the ranks in It's Showtime's 70MAX division and inch closer to a title shot. He's still a long ways off but a win over Chikadze will move him to  a 2-0 record in It's Showtime. Kurovskoy won his last fight in It's Showtime with a decision victory over Andre Grigorian in Brussels on March 26.

His opponent, Giga Chikadze is a fighter from Georgia who now trains and fights out of Mike's Gym alongside Badr Hari and Melvin Manhoef. Chikadze will look to get his name out there with a win. A convincing win over Kurovskoy would definitely make the division take notice as Kurovskoy was originally slated to be in the monster -70kg tournament.

Both fighters like to move forward but Kurovskoy will relentlessly come forward for the whole fight. While the level of technique between these two isn't that high, they both could make up for it with their aggression. Kurovskoy will throw a counter lead hook while his opponent makes a move which could be a key factor in this fight. I'd probably give the edge in technique to Kurovskoy as Chikadze can get wild with his punches. Both like to counter off exchanges but Kurovskoy's lead hook will likely land better than Chikadze's more wild punches.

Both fighters aren't too worried about defense, sacrificing a lot of it in favor of offense. Expect a lot of flush shots landing in exchanges when they decide to trade in the pocket. Chikadze will likely be the one backing up and coming out worse in the exchanges.

The lack of strong technique in some areas could lead to this fight being a good old fashioned brawl. This could be the sleeper fight of the card as both guys won't hesitate to throw down.

Kurovskoy will likely dictate the fight and back Chikadze up. Expect Kurovskoy's pressure to take over the fight while Chikadze covers up without any offense at times. Kurovskoy will move forward and get the unanimous decision.

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