What’s Next For Calvin Kattar?

Calvin Kattar put on a fight of the year candidate when he stepped into the Octagon on Saturday night On the first UFC card of the year against Giga Chikadze. These two fighters went to war, and it left many wondering what is next for “The Boston Finisher.” There are some fights that I think make sense. The first would be a matchup between Kattar and submission expert Brian Ortega. One fight that also makes sense is a matchup between Kattar and Yair  Rodríguez. Another possible fight would be between the loser of Volkanovski vs Korean Zombie at UFC 273 in April. I think these fights make sense. 

The first fight is between Kattar and Ortega. Ortega is coming off a title loss to UFC Featherweight Champion Volkanovski in our pick for fight of the year for 2021. Ortega, who is a Black Belt under Rener Gracie has an impressive record of 15-2-(1) with nearly half of those coming by way of submission. Now Kattar has a wrestling background but he tends to lean towards a more strike heavy offense with 11 of his 23 wins coming by way of Knockout. This would be an awesome Striker vs Grappler fight and we all know how much the UFC loves to  put on those types of stylistic mismatch of fights.

 Yair  Rodríguez also works as an option for Kattar. Rodriguez is coming off a loss to Featherweight Goat Max Holloway. Rodriguez sports an impressive 13–3-(1) record with his only losses in the UFC coming from bouts against the aforementioned Holloway and to Frankie Edgar. Rodriquez is a striker holding a Black Belt in Taekwondo with the majority of his finishes coming by way of knockout. This would be a good fight where Rodriguez would stand up and throw shots at each other until they’re both bruised up or someone gets Knocked out it’d definitely be a fun fight to watch. 

The final option for Kattar would be a matchup between him and the winner of Volanovski vs. The Korean Zombie. Let’s be honest I don’t think that Volkanovski will lose his title anytime soon so it is likely it will be a matchup between Kattar and Chan Sung Jung. Jung is like a swiss army knife of fighters with a 3rd dan black belt in Hapkido, 2nd dan black belt in Taekwondo, a Black belt in Judo,and a Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This would be an interesting matchup between the two fighters. Because of Jung’s proficiency in all those disciplines.

Calvin Kattar is a solid contender in the Featherweight division. It’ll be interesting to see who he faces next.