Calvin Kattar has decided to listen to his body. The sixth-ranked featherweight has resolved to let his body fully heal before returning to the octagon later this year.
Kattar’s last outing in January resulted in a lopsided unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Max Holloway. Holloway landed 445 significant strikes in a fight so brutal that many were left wondering why Kattar’s corner chose not to throw in the towel. For his part, Kattar never stopped moving forward as many wondered how he was still standing. Although Kattar remains in concussion protocol, he still believes his coach, New England Cartel’s Tyson Chartier, made the right call. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie Radio, Kattar opens up about the decision. (H/T MMA Junkie)
“People were questioning him for not throwing in the towel, but if he threw that in, maybe he would have had more problems with me, so who knows how that works? But I’m just happy to be back. I’m in a good groove now. I feel healthy. I feel strong, except when I go with Rob (Font) because he’s on another level right now, but I’m just excited. Full steam ahead, May 22, main event, long overdue, Rob Font is No. 3 in the world. I’m No. 6 right now. It’s a great time for both of us and for just staying the course, trusting the process, keeping our head down, putting the work in, and now we have these big opportunities in front of us.”
Kattar also went on to share that he’d like the opportunity for a rematch against Halloway someday.
“If I don’t get what I’m after the first time, I have the type of mindset, a personality where I get more motivated the second time,” Kattar shared. “I get more motivated when I get set back. Either way, it’s forward. I always fall forward, and I look forward to a Round 6 with Max. He did what he had to do in the first five – hell of a fight, credit to him, and I can’t wait for another opportunity to get a crack at that one.”
Though a rematch is likely not imminent, Kattar is looking forward to returning in the Fall against a higher-ranked opponent.
“Ideally, if we could fight up, that would be great,” he said. “If not, I don’t care. I’ll probably be in that Max situation, where he’s coming off two losses, I’m coming off one, but I feel like I’ll be fighting an up-and-comer, a tough prospect. Who really knows how it shakes out? This sport is crazy like that, right?”
“I’d like to fight a guy off a win, maybe up if I could, but we’ll see. I know I just dropped that last one, so I’m just ready to go in and earn me another ‘W’ and show why I belong in that upper echelon of those guys you just mentioned.”
Who would you like to see Calvin Kattar fight upon his return this Fall?