Not since the heyday of Kenny Florian has a serious UFC title contender come out of the Boston area, but [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] is right on the doorstep.
In a UFC on ESPN 13 main event that figured to deliver the winner onto the short list of top contenders for Alexander Volkanovski’s featherweight title, Kattar threw down with a game [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] for 25 minutes. The first three rounds were tightly contested, but Kattar had more gas left in the tank over the championship rounds and pulled away for a unanimous decision victory. The judges scores were 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47.
Kattar (22-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) stalked Ige (14-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) from the outset of the opening round, pushing forward and using punishing body shots to set up overhand follow-ups. For his part, Ige was at his most effective when he landed counters, or reset after Kattar flurries and then caught him before he could reset. A surge in the closing seconds by Kattar likely sealed the round in his favor.
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Ige’s best round was the second. His best moment of the fight came when he used a big body shot to set up a brutal left which likely re-broke Kattar’s nose, which he originally broke in his win over Jeremy Stephens in May. Ige continued to land sharp combos to the body and head as Kattar seemed to lose sight of his game plan.
“Dan’s a tough kid,” Kattar said. “I think I’m stronger than these guys mentally, and show it. I think it’s tough not to get damage in a fight with my style, but credit to Dan – he’s a tough kid.”
Kattar regrouped and got back into the fight, and while the third round was the fight’s least eventful, by the end, Kattar had re-established control as he successfully re-implemented his jab.
Over the final two rounds, Kattar’s power became more pronounced. Ige stopped throwing combos and settled for single shots when he could find them, as demonstrated by Kattar’s 23-7 and 27-11 edge in significant strikes in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively. Ige never gave up attempting to find an opening, but Kattar wasn’t going to give it up, and ended the fight emphatically by dropping Ige and dishing out ground and pound until the final horn.
With the victory, Kattar has now won two straight and four of his past five. Ige had a six-fight winning streak snapped and was gracious in defeat.
“Calvin is one of the best in the world,” Ige said. “(I) just got out there and test myself and test my will. He’s super slick, man.”
The featherweight bout was the main event at UFC on ESPN 13 at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 13 results include:
- Calvin Kattar def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
- Tim Elliott def. Ryan Benoit via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jimmie Rivera def. Cody Stamann via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Taila Santos def. Molly McCann via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Mounir Lazzez def. Abdul Razak Alhassan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Khamzat Chimaev def. John Phillips via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 2, 1:12
- Lerone Murphy def. Ricardo Ramos via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:18
- Modestas Bukauskas def. Andreas Michailidis via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 5:00
- Jared Gordon def. Chris Fishgold via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
- Liana Jojua def. Diana Belbita via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:43
- Jack Shore def. Aaron Phillips via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:29
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