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UFC 300
Calvin Kattar: “I’m Back”
Featherweight Contender Returns To Competition Against Former Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling At UFC 300, Hoping To Make A Run At The Title
When the UFC announced their return to Boston last August, Massachusetts native Calvin Kattar was hopeful he would be able to compete after suffering an ACL injury eight months prior.
“It was a little tight, but in my mind, I trained for it, thinking I was going to do it just as a way to jumpstart that camp feeling and I knew it really wasn't possible,” Kattar told UFC.com ahead of his UFC 300 bout. “It was tough. Bittersweet seeing that one happen.”
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It’s been eighteen months since Kattar has stepped inside the Octagon, and he admits the path to recovery has been a long time coming.
“I felt pretty good initially, pretty early within the first six months,” Kattar said. “But they say that you feel like that and then that's where most people often re-injure it, so you have to get past that feeling of where you feel like you're good and wait until you actually put it to the test in training and pick it up a little bit and just build the confidence that way. There's really no other way to build the confidence in it and to go out there and do it. Saturday, we've got another opportunity to step in there and I'm excited.”
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Heading into fight week, Kattar said he is always grateful for the opportunity to compete, but this time feels a little more special due to the historic nature of UFC 300.
The 36-year-old has always been someone that doesn’t focus on things out of his control, and leaves the past in the past, but having to sit on the sidelines during his injury wasn’t easy.
“It tests your patience,” Kattar said. “But, at the end of the day, there's only so much you could do, and the cards are going to settle where they settle. When I'm ready to come back and do something about it, I hold myself accountable to that time frame and that window. In the meantime, my fight was just on recovery, focusing on getting healthy and getting in there as soon as possible.”
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The division has changed quite a bit since Kattar’s last fight, most notably who sits atop the featherweight throne, which is now Ilia Topuria, shaking things up for the rest of the contenders that sit behind him. Like many fighters, Kattar is focused on the task at hand, which is former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, who is making his first run in the 145-pound division.
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“I don't really focus on all of them, but things are going to be a little different on the back end of an Aljo win,” Kattar said. “It seems like everybody that I've been fighting lately, they all call out the champ after our fight or even during our fight and before our fight. I don't know why my name is not in that mix, so maybe beating these guys that are calling out the champs, I obviously get a win over Aljo and just see where I stand within that division, who's next, and try to earn my shot for the belt.”
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As far as the matchup with Sterling goes, Kattar said he doesn’t really spend too much time focusing on his opponents but understands the accolades the Sterling brings into the fight, saying he was “widely considered the G.O.A.T. of the bantamweight division,” followed up by his opinion that featherweight is a different ballgame. Kattar believes when he steps into the Octagon, it’s about him competing against his potential and where he can go at 145 pounds.
Often, athletes speak about the nerves and excitement they experience before they step in the Octagon. That’s no different for Kattar, especially when it comes to returning from an injury, but he tries to remain focused on the 15 minutes ahead.
“I always try to stay in the present moment up until that point, and the fight doesn't happen only until those 15 minutes,” Kattar said. “By the time it's time to get nervous, it's already too late, so it's time to go. In my mind, I try to hold off the nerves by being in the moment as much as I can and then by the time the fight happens, it's too late and you just say, ‘go’ and feel at home when all the other b***s*** is past and it's just fighting.”
The last time Kattar competed in front of a crowd was in June of 2022 against Josh Emmett, so being able to feed off the crowd energy this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena is something the featherweight can’t wait for.
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And as far what he hopes his message is to the rest of the division and everyone else that may have forgotten about Calvin Kattar?
“I'm back and I'm still hungry for that belt.”
UFC 300: Pereira vs Hill took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 13, 2024. See the final Prelim and Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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