UFC Vegas 63: Calvin Kattar vs Arnold Allen

Although the highs from UFC 280 last weekend are still lingering in the air, the UFC heads back to the Apex in Las Vegas this Saturday for a sneaky good fight night card built around two title contenders Calvin Kattar and Arnold Allen.

Despite the recent wave of popularity, betting underdog Arnold Allen made his UFC debut quite some time ago in June of 2015. Arnold has a perfect record with the promotion, winning all 9 of his fights in the UFC. He is a well rounded fighter with 6 knockouts, 4 submissions and 8 decisions on his record. Arnold is known for his slick jiu jitsu and ability to stay busy while being mindful of the shots he commits to. He previously has been matched up with Jeremy Stephens and #4 ranked Josh Emmett, but with both fights falling through he was faced with featherweight prospect Sodiq Yusuff. After winning a unanimous decision versus Sodiq, Arnold welcomed welterweight title contender Dan Hooker to the featherweight division and finished him via TKO in the first round. This impressive win earned him his shot against the #5 ranked Calvin Kattar. Allen is a southpaw fighter with quite the ability to adjust his game plan. We often see him using his right jab to set up technical combinations and measure the distance of his opponents, capitalizing on his opponents leg kicks by catching them and offering the threat of a takedown, using his cardio and high pace to pressure his opponents and securing the double under to wear his opponents down against the fence while raining down shots to the body and punches to the head, as well as offering the threat of a submission. He does a great job at staying busy and adjusting to his opponents game plan by using his full arsenal of martial arts skills. Arnold has been clawing his way up the featherweight division for quite some time now and I look forward to seeing how he performs against his greatest test thus far in Calvin Kattar.

Betting favorite Calvin Kattar has been scheduled in 5 round main events in all 4 of his most recent bouts. With 29 fights on his record, he is the more experienced fighter and has only lost to the best of the best in the featherweight division, losing his last bout versus Josh Emmett via decision, but not without controversy as many believed the fight could have gone either way. Kattar began his mixed martial arts journey as a standout wrestler in highschool, placing 5th in the D1 MIAA state championships. After graduating highschool, Kattar contemplated pursuing a wrestling career or beginning his mixed martial arts career. In an interview with UFC veteran Dan Hardy, Kattar expressed how training with the Diaz brothers solidified his decision to pursue mma. He went on to fight 18 times before signing with the UFC in 2017 and securing a decision win versus Andre “Touchy” Fili. Calvin has been faced with highly skilled fighters throughout his entire career in the UFC. He fights out of the rising New England Cartel gym under mma coach Tyson Chartier and alongside the #7 ranked bantamweight Rob Font. Calvin is an orthodox striker and like his opponent, he does an incredible job at using his jab to set up his punches and find his range. We often see him throwing his left jab, following with the right and slipping out of the pocket almost immediately to avoid the counter reaction of his opponents. He has great cardio and his strength was no match for Giga Chikadze, who was the betting favorite in their match up in January of this year. Calvin mixes up his striking quite well by beating up the body, throwing elbows and front kicks to split the guard of his opponents and utilizing his wrestling IQ to tire whoever is across the cage from him. Kattar is a cardio machine and has only been finished once in his career, he is one of those fighters that seems to thrive in the midst of chaos.

I believe that both of these men have the ability to become a champion in the near future and that is what makes this fight so exciting. While people often assume that southpaw fighters have the advantage versus an orthodox fighter, I think the difference between these two will be the wrestling ability and strength of Calvin Kattar. Arnold has a strong takedown defense at 76% according to his UFC stats, but Kattar has a clear path to victory if he is able to use his 5 round experience and strength to his advantage. We can’t forget about the submission threat of Arnold Allen and while I don’t think that Kattar will necessarily take this fight to the ground early on, I do believe he will use the fence and forward pressure to tire Allen, test his cardio, and in the later rounds go on to take him down and finish the fight via TKO. Considering the high fight IQ of these two contenders, I expect this to be a very technical matchup and a treat for those of us that enjoy a great striking battle. I would not be surprised to see this fight go into deep waters and end in a decision on either side, but ultimately, I see Kattar capitalizing on his wrestling ability and vicious ground and pound to secure a finish.

Prediction:
Calvin Kattar via KO/TKO
(Please note: This prediction is not associated with the MMAPlay365 packages, subscriptions or services)