“The only thing I could do after my mom’s passing was to continue my journey the way my mom wanted,” Chikadze said. “Every time I help someone it feels like I’m giving a present in her memory and out of her love. I’m not expecting to get anything back. We are helping people who need this the most and, honestly, every single time we help someone, even if it’s small bit of help, it gives me this type of feeling that I need. It’s truly a blessing.”
Even though he never expected to get anything back, Chikadze couldn’t be more honored to be accepting the Forrest Griffin Community Award today. In addition to the award, Chikadze will receive $25,000 to assist the efforts of The Knockout Cancer Foundation.
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“This was never the goal,” Chikadze said. “The award is amazing, but the goal is to help people. Every time I used to talk about it, it was hard for me because of my mom passing away. But I knew that talking about her could allow me to help people, so I pushed through that and now I’m just so honored to know I will be able to help more people.”
Those funds will go a long way in allowing Chikadze to make his biggest impact in the community to date.
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“This is such a huge honor,” Chikadze said. “I could only dream about getting something like this and I didn’t think it would happen to me, especially in just two-and-a-half years. I’m so grateful to the UFC and for my family.
“I want to be the right example of how you can use your platform to help others and be a positive influence. This award just shows that I’m on the right path to doing that.”
