Calvin Kattar

Calvin Kattar (born March 26, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2007, Kattar formerly competed for EliteXC. As of April 26, 2021, he is #5 in the UFC featherweight rankings.

Background

The son of James and Sandra Kattar, Calvin was born and raised in Methuen, Massachusetts. He has Lebanese heritage. He has two brothers and a sister. After initiating in the sport in ninth grade, Kattar was a standout wrestler at Methuen High School, being ranked as high as eighth in the state (160 pounds) and placing fifth at the Division I MIAA state championships as a senior in 2006. After graduating, he was unsure whether he should wrestle in college or not, and ended up opting to pursue a career in mixed martial arts. He went on to earn an associate degree at Middlesex Community College. In an interview, Kattar expressed that he got a chance to train with Nick and Nate Diaz when he was 19 years old, and how that influenced his way of training, stating:

“I got like three bloody noses a day. I’m out there dogging it out. I’m by myself. But it was a great opportunity. Long term I was able to see these guys and how they train on the West Coast. Watching the Diaz brothers train at 1 a.m. and realizing you can lie to yourself and say guys aren’t training like that, but somewhere they are. I was exposed to that, which is great."

Mixed martial arts career

Kattar won eight consecutive bouts and was unbeaten in over seven years competing on the regional circuit primarily in his native New England prior to his UFC career.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Kattar made his UFC debut replacing Doo Ho Choi against Andre Fili on July 29, 2017 at UFC 214. Kattar won the fight by unanimous decision.

Kattar faced undefeated prospect Shane Burgos on January 20, 2018 at UFC 220. Kattar won the fight via technical knock out in round three. The fight was awarded the Fight of the Night bonus.

Kattar faced Renato Moicano on April 7, 2018 at UFC 223. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Kattar faced promotional newcomer Chris Fishgold on October 27, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 138. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round. By the bout, Kattar fulfilled his first four-fight contract with the UFC.

Kattar faced Ricardo Lamas at UFC 238 on June 8, 2019. He won the fight via knockout in the first round.

Kattar was scheduled to face Zabit Magomedsharipov on October 18, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 6. However, Magomedsharipov was removed from the card due to injury on September 13 and the pairing was rescheduled for the following month at UFC on ESPN+ 21. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

Kattar was scheduled to face Jeremy Stephens on April 18, 2020 at UFC 249. However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed and the bout eventually took place on May 9, 2020. At the weigh-ins on May 8, Stephens missed weight, weighing in at 150.5 pounds, 4.5 pounds over the non-title featherweight limit. As a result, the bout proceeded as a catchweight bout and Stephens was fined 20% of his purse which went to Kattar. Kattar won the fight via technical knockout in round two.

The first bout of his new six-fight contract came against Dan Ige on July 16, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige. Kattar won the fight via by unanimous decision.

Next, Kattar faced former UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway, while headlining UFC on ABC 1 on January 16, 2021. In a one-sided fight where Kattar suffered plenty of physical trauma due to Holloway's strikes, which set multiple UFC records, he was defeated by unanimous decision. Despite being a one-sided fight, both competitors earned the Fight of the Night award as Kattar was able to land powerful strikes of his own, despite all the damage he received.

Kattar faced Giga Chikadze on January 15, 2022 at UFC on ESPN 32. He won the fight via unanimous decision after knocking down and almost finishing Chikadze in the final seconds of the bout. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.