Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Slick boxer, Calvin Kattar, will throw down with Dagestani mauler, Zabit Magomedsharipov, this Saturday (Nov. 9, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 163 from inside CSKA Arena in Moscow, Russia.
It’s hard to say just how well-known Kattar is just five fights into his UFC career, but for anyone that’s been paying attention, the Boston-native has been hugely impressive. He debuted on short-notice against Andre Fili. In that bout, Kattar proved himself a finished product already, showing off excellent boxing and range control to win a strong decision. Those skills have continued to carry him up the Featherweight ladder — albeit with a hiccup against Renato Moicano — and Kattar only seems to be improving in his twelfth year as a professional.
Let’s take a closer look at his skill set:
Striking
Kattar can box, son. His punching mechanics are simply better than the vast majority of his peers. Kattar spends a lot of time picking off his opponents with the jab and rangy counters, but when “The Boston Finisher” does step forward with a fully committed 1-2 or hook-cross, he’s able to throw with real power thanks to his excellent form.
In just five UFC fights, Kattar has proven himself one of MMA’s finest boxers.
Let’s first take it back to the jab, however, which is a signature weapon of Kattar. There’s just so much Kattar does correctly when talking about the jab. Once again, the mechanics are pretty perfect: Kattar tends to keep his hands tighter to his cheekbones than most MMA fighters, and his jab extends directly from his temple to his opponent’s nose with no load or tell. It’s quick and punishing, both a weapon to prod opponents and set up future power shots.
In this section, I’m going to talk quite a bit about Kattar’s bout with Shane Burgos, an excellent fight that I would argue ranks highly among the best displays of MMA boxing. Despite both men excelling as punchers, their styles are very different: Kattar is fluid and rangy from the outside, whereas Burgos is a bruiser who stalks opponents, rips combinations, and counters brilliantly.
In short, Burgos has made a career from drawing the jab out and then ruthlessly countering with an overhand across the jab or slip a hook. Due to Kattar’s excellent mechanics, however, his jab landed frequently, and most of Burgos’ counters were intercepted by his shoulder touching his jawline or high defensive right hand.
Against both Burgos and Fili, Kattar found good success when exchanging jabs. When two men jab simultaneously, the man who squats down a bit lower and takes his head off the center line is almost definitely going to land the cleaner blow (GIF).
Aside from his mechanics, Kattar simply mixes it up well. He feints actively, will double up on the jab, and will occasionally stick a jab to the body. If his opponent starts parrying too much, Kattar will hook off the jab or fire a 3-2 to punish that trait and reopen the path for his jab to land.
Kattar is primarily a boxer, but he does kick. The right low kick and jab are a classic combination, and Kattar will occasionally mix a nice calf kick into his offense to off-balance an opponent. Against the stalking Burgos, Kattar also included some front kicks up the middle to make forward pressure more difficult (GIF).
Once Kattar has really established his range with the jab, he’ll build off it with the right hand. Like his jab, Kattar’s cross fires directly from his chin to target with little tell. As he grows more confident in the pocket, Kattar is more willing to slip his head off line and target the body as well (GIF).
Returning to the Burgos bout, “Hurricane” did not simply let Kattar jab him up. In the second round, Burgos stormed back into control by doubling down on his body shot counters and low kicks, which effectively slowed Kattar down. As a result, Burgos was more and more able to land combinations.
Fighting from the outside is exhausting, and Kattar realized between rounds that he could not continue trying to out-slick Burgos — who, again, is a very talented boxer himself. In the opening minute of the third round, Kattar shocked Burgos by taking the fight to him, really stepping deep into a right hand that wobbled Burgos. A pair of brilliantly timed uppercuts sealed the deal, but it was really a perfect adjustment from Kattar 10 minutes into a difficult fight (GIF).
It is not easy to rely so heavily on boxing fundamentals in MMA due to the threat of kicks and takedowns. In Kattar’s sole UFC defeat, Moicano relentlessly ripped low kicks each and every time Kattar tried to step into the pocket. The low kick is a devastating counter to the jab, as a good jab exposes the lead leg. Before long, Kattar simply could not move well, and he was largely a sitting duck for future kicks and combinations.
It was a dominant performance from Moicano, but that does not mean it’s easy to kick apart his lead leg. Ricardo Lamas has an excellent calf kick himself, and he tried to replicate Moicano’s success against Kattar. However, Kattar was ready for it, and he employed the smart strategy of showing punches to close distance before truly committing to his power shots (GIF) — a technique which is the subject of this week’s technique highlight.
Wrestling
A high school wrestler, Kattar’s wrestling talents have yet to be fully tested. At the same time, what we’ve seen so far is quite promising.
Kattar’s only takedowns inside the Octagon came in his debut opposite Fili, but they really don’t tell us a ton about his technique. In the first, Fili slipped while stepping along the cage, and Kattar smartly took advantage with a simply double-leg takedown along the fence. Later in the fight, a high kick from Fili partially connected with the foot, but Kattar was able to catch it on his shoulder and tip Fili over.
Opportunism is always a plus if nothing else!
Defensively, Kattar really has a great striking game to deny takedowns. His high guard may make it a touch easy to get to his hips, but Kattar does not over-expose himself while punching at all. Plus, he does a nice job of switching directions and occasionally stances while moving, which increases the difficulty of timing a shot.
If Kattar is keeping his foe on the end of that ramrod jab, they’re unlikely to be able to setup a shot well. At the same time, Kattar has yet to face a truly elite wrestler like Magomedsharipov, so this bout should prove an illuminating test of his defense.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Kattar has spent almost no time grappling on the mat. He landed a few shots from within the guard of Fili before “Touchy” was able to stand, and similarly, Fishgold could not contain Kattar for long in his sole successful takedown. Once more, this bout with “ZaBeast” has a fair chance at helping us learn more about this aspect of Kattar’s game.
Conclusion
Kattar is a seriously skilled striker with what appears to be a complete game. He’s smart, efficient, and dangerous. This main event slot is a deserved opportunity for both men to really announce themselves as title contenders, though I am slightly sad the short-notice nature of its booking will restrain the fight to three rounds rather than five.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 163 fight card this weekend RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+“Prelims” that are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET, then the main card portion that will also stream on ESPN+ at 2 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Fight Night 163: “Zabit vs. Kattar” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
Andrew Richardson, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, is a professional fighter who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California. In addition to learning alongside world-class talent, Andrew has scouted opponents and developed winning strategies for several of the sport’s most elite fighters.