Under the Radar at UFC 238: Calvin Kattar

E. Spencer Kyte

Under the Radar at UFC 238: Calvin Kattar image
Prior to every event, Under the Radar will cast the spotlight on an up-and-coming talent who shows the potential for growth in his or her division and isn’t getting enough attention as they head into battle.

Name: Calvin Kattar
Record: 19-3 overall; 3-1 UFC
Division: Featherweight
Team: New England MMA Syndicate

The group Calvin Kattar trains with is not officially known as the “New England MMA Syndicate,” but I’ll be damned if that isn’t a terrific name for the collection of talent from in and around Massachusetts that get together and train. If this catches on, I want royalties … or at least a shout out for creating the name.

Anyway…

Kattar is one of those guys no one thinks about when listing the dangerous, emerging threats in the featherweight division because he’s a quiet, unassuming guy who simply goes out there, handles his business and slides back into the shadows. A perfect illustration of this is that while he’s stationed at No. 15 in the latest UFC Fighter Rankings update (I know, I know), Shane Burgos is positioned at No. 13.

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Kattar stopped Burgos 18 months ago at UFC 220 and while “Hurricane Shane” has responded with consecutive victories, including a split decision triumph over Cub Swanson at the start of last month in Ottawa, the 31-year-old from Methuen, Massachusetts has gone 1-1, dropping a decision to Renato Moicano, who sits at No. 5 in the rankings, before finishing Chris Fishgold in the first round of their meeting last October.

I know rankings are subjective and flawed, but Kattar being positioned behind Burgos despite a head-to-head victory is part of what leads to guys like Kattar being overlooked and dismissed, even though he’s very much an intriguing name in the loaded 145-pound weight class.

All of that could change after this weekend, of course, as Kattar will step in the cage against former title challenger and divisional stalwart Ricardo Lamas in the first of four preliminary card bouts set to air on ESPN.

Although he’s just 4-4 over his last eight fights, Lamas remains a crucial cog in the featherweight machine; the kind of guy you have to beat in order to ascend to the next level of competition and establish yourself as a true factor in the division.

And Kattar has the tools to be a factor.

Standing five-foot-11, he has good height and a strong frame for the division, and while his reach isn’t anything special (72 inches), Kattar does a very good job of working behind a long, clean jab, making people pay for staying at range and using it to set up all the other aspects of his game.

If you go back and watch his fight with Burgos, which was close through two rounds before Kattar turned up the intensity and put him away in the third, you’ll see it was the constant pressure of that jab in Burgos’ face that eventually created the opportunity for “The Boston Finisher” to crash forward and get the finish.

Continuing to work alongside guys like Rob Font and Joe Lauzon is only going to help him sharpen those weapons even further, as both are polished boxers with a good understanding of the importance of a quality jab.

To me, Kattar feels like one of those guys who is going to slowly and steadily work his way into the Top 10 and take up residence there for a couple years, turning back hopefuls and toppling veterans while giving the best of the best a run for their money. He was neck-and-neck with Moicano for most of their clash at UFC 223 and if that’s your only loss to date in the UFC, that’s pretty darn good.

He’s like a featherweight version of Al Iaquinta — tough as nails, pretty good everywhere, but not great in any one particular realm. He’s just a well-rounded, quality competitor who has already shown an ability to thrive against solid competition in one of the most talent-rich divisions in the UFC and there is no reason to believe that will change any time soon.

Beating Lamas this weekend in Chicago isn’t going to vault him into title contention or even really generate a great deal of buzz because (a) people don’t appreciate how good Lamas is either, (b) there are much bigger matchups on the card that will rightfully garner more attention and (c) there are other upstarts in the division who are much closer to being in the mix, but none of that means Kattar should be completely cast aside and forgotten about for the next several months.

A win on Saturday would push his record to 4-1 in the Octagon and should be enough to carry him into a matchup with the winner of one of the other quality featherweight fights currently on the schedule. A fight with another veteran name (Jeremy Stephens?) would work as well.

I know this fight isn’t sexy and there isn't really anything that jumps off the screen about what Kattar does inside the cage. However, we just got finished talking about the importance of victories in the wake of Elias Theodorou’s release, so here’s a guy with a quality record, working his way up the ladder in one of the deepest divisions in the sport, poised for another stern test.

That’s the kind of guy that everyone should be paying attention to and eager to see more from, so hopefully this gets you a little more amped up to see what Kattar brings to the table this weekend at UFC 238.

E. Spencer Kyte