Finding himself on the wrong side of one of the most spectacular and one-sided performances in the Octagon’s history, Metheun native, Calvin Kattar saw his UFC featherweight title aspirations derailed as he clashed with a poised as ever former titleholder, Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway at UFC Fight Island 7 on Saturday.
Amassing two straight victories during the course of last year, the Massachusetts striker entered the most high-profile matchup of his professional career, drawing Hawaiian favourite, Holloway in a potential 145-pound title-eliminator. Kicking off the promotion’s 2021 schedule as well as debuting on partner network, ABC, Holloway and Kattar closed the curtain on a ten-fight card for the UFC.
Following an exciting main card full of eye-catching finishes from Punahele Soriano’s win over Dusko Todorovic, to Alessio Di Chirico’s high-kick stoppage of prospect, Joaquin Buckley, and to Li Jingliang’s KO of the returning, Santiago Ponzinibbio — Holloway stole the show with a truly breathtaking 50-43 (x2), and an unheard-of 50-42 unanimous decision drubbing.
Suffering a broken nose as well as multiple lacerations to his forehead due to a barrage of slicing step-in elbows from the record-setting Holloway, UFC president, Dana White informed media at last weekend’s post-fight press conference, how Kattar had more or less shrugged off and laughed at his concern as he urged him to make his way to the hospital as he required transportation.
Dropping each and every round against the shining Holloway, Kattar himself set a record for most significant strikes landed in his Octagon stint, however, the former’s volume, pace, and pressure proved all too difficult a path to traverse for the 34-year-old.
Slapped with a potential six-month medical suspension following his damaging defeat, Kattar tonight released a statement on his official Instagram account, as classy as ever, praising Holloway’s career-best performance, before reassuring his followers that there’s no preventing the resurgence of someone who doesn’t give in.
“Success in life comes when you simply refuse to give up,” Kattar wrote. “With goals so strong with obstacles, that failure and loss only act as motivation. Props to Max (Holloway) on a hell of a fight he deserves all the praise. Thankful for my team’s commitment for this fight. On to the next. There is no stopping the man who doesn’t quit.“
Forced back to the drawing board following a statement of intent in 2020, Kattar had lodged a July unanimous decision win over Holloway’s fellow Hawaiian, ‘Dynamite Dan’ Ige in his second promotional headliner. In arguably the biggest win of his career to date, Kattar took on veteran power puncher, Jeremy ‘Lil’ Heathen’ Stephens at UFC 249 in May.
Avoiding the majority of the Des Moines native’s power stikes in the opening frame, Kattar scored a massive step-in elbow knockdown in the second round, before unleashed devastating, slicing ground-and-pound on his way to a knockout win.