Calvin Kattar is at his best when he is ruled out of a fight.
A year after the most devastating loss of his career, he returned to the cage and put on the most dominant performance of his career. Kattar (23-5) decimated Giga Chikadze in Saturday’s main event. UFC on ESPN card, winning the bout via unanimous decision.
“I know there were a lot of people who were hesitant, but all I could do was focus on that moment,” said Kattar, who will remain ranked No. 5 in the featherweight division. “Last year was tough, but I knew I had to be patient and wait for this moment. Me, my team, my family, we were ready for this moment.”
Chikadze (14-3) had been ripping opponents apart. He entered the fight on a nine-fight winning streak, jumping as high as eighth in the division, but his championship run was halted by Kattar. Chikadze showed toughness in the way he absorbed an onslaught of punishment from Kattar, but that was his only bright spot in the fight.
Unlike Kattar’s loss a year ago to Max Holloway, this time it was Kattar who was in complete control of the fight.
“I definitely bottled up a lot of emotions from that Holloway fight and took advantage of it,” Kattar said. “Going through that moment and not learning from it would have been a waste. But it was even more than that. This was an opportunity for me to prove my supporters right. I’m chasing life on the other side of a victory. Every fight is an opportunity to improve my life, and that’s something I don’t take lightly.”
Saturday’s action began on the canvas, but lasted only the first five minutes. The next four rounds focused entirely on hitting. Earlier in the week, Chikadze had told him Sports Illustrated, “I’m the best striker in the game. I have a huge advantage when we stand up and fight.”
However, against Kattar, that was not the case.
“I have heard [Giga] looking at me, I heard him call the champion,” said Kattar. “A lot of guys compete for title fights with their mouths instead of their fights. I took note of that. I didn’t give him any material from the bulletin board, I just wanted him to pay for it on fight night.”
Kattar controlled the space and pace of the fight, especially in the fourth and fifth rounds. Over the last ten minutes, Kattar landed 87 significant punches, 27 more than he took, leaving Chikadze’s face battered and bruised.
Kattar prevented Chikadze from using his brutal left kick, cornering and hitting a previously undefeated fighter in the UFC octagon. His combinations and elbow strikes were simply too much, and he bombarded Chikadze with a variety of more than 400 strikes in total.
“For some reason, I always seem to find myself in these kinds of fights,” Kattar said. “I love that m–. I knew he was looking to come back to me with something big, but my coaches had me ready.”
The featherweight title is next on the line at UFC 273 in April when Alexander Volkanovski defends the belt against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung. Now that Kattar’s championship quest is back on track, he wants to return to fighting opponents ranked above him.
“That’s the goal, to keep fighting,” Kattar said. “I’ve worked 15 years to get to this point, and I’m totally into it. I can’t wait to go home and prepare for the next one.”
The victory against Chikadze came on the birthday of his late best friend, Joel Gigliotti, who passed away in 2019.
“Joel was my fifth corner,” Kattar said. “I am proud that we were able to honor him in his memory.”
Proudly representing his family, friends and home, Kattar reminded the fight world that the future of the featherweight division rests with Methuen, Massachusetts.
“This fight was about New England,” Kattar said. “We’re trying to earn some respect for our home, and we’re doing that every time we step into the cage.”
Justin Barrasso can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.