Kattar Lands Bloody Wig Splitter, Knocks Out Stephens

Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images

Jeremy Stephens — who came in a whopping five pounds heavy for his UFC 249 pay-per-view (PPV) main card match against Calvin Kattar tonight (Sat., May 9, 2020) inside Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., — was looking to avoid adding to his record-setting 16 losses inside the Octagon. Kattar (4-2 in UFC), though, was not going to make it easy, motivated to improve his standing at the expense of his No. 7-ranked opponent. And he did just that, connecting with a hellacious pair of elbows to leave “Lil’ Heathen” dazed, in a puddle of his own blood in the center of the cage.

Round One:

Stephens, unsurprisingly, stormed out of the gate with powerful punches upstairs and thudding kicks down below. Kattar attempted to slow his roll with low kicks of his own, but Stephens kept moving forward, ripping shots to the body and missing with looping lefts. Kattar just missed with a straight right, grazing Stephen’s forehead, but then connecting moments later with a hard left hook that landed flush. Kattar followed it up with a combination to the midsection, while Stephens returned fire with a hard shot to the lead leg that appeared to do damage. Kattar plugged him with a long, hard straight right hand that Stephens did not like. Stephens ripped another hard body shot at the bell.

Round Two:

Stephens opened up the second frame with more low kicks, clearly targeting Kattar’s lead leg. Kattar scored with a hard counter shot to the head, but Stephens didn’t even wince. Stephens then scored with a hard straight right hand down the middle, while Kattar countered with precision combinations that bounced his opponent’s head in every direction. Kattar then landed a monster shot that dropped Stephens in the middle of the cage like a sniper with a crazy elbow to the face. Stephens fell back awkwardly, and Kattar dove in for the finish, missing on the first but the connecting on the second with another elbow that split his wig.

Stephens had no idea what hit him. As he got back to a sitting position, blood was streaming out of his forehead … Marvin Eastman-esque. What a brutal finish to a very competitive and hard-hitting match.

Final Result: Kattar defeats Stephens via knockout in round two

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