On Saturday we witnessed a featherweight main event bout between Josh Emmett and Calvin Kattar with huge title contender implications for the division. The event exceeded expectations by tying the UFC record of 8 knockouts within one event, and was filled to the brim with action from start to finish. There are a few key takeaways from the event so without further ado, let’s get into it.

We had the pleasure of Adrian Yanez kicking off the main card. Yanez showcased his beautifully crisp boxing against Tony Kelley, having been described as the ‘mini Masvidal’. We saw first-hand, with his lightning-fast combos and entertaining personality, why he won over his home crowd of Austin. I see a bright future for Yanez, especially with optimistic call outs in his post-fight speech, such as the “Suga Show” Sean O’Malley. Adrian Yanez is definitely a prospect to keep your eye on.

Next on the list, we had the return of Guram Kutateladze against Damir Ismagulov. This fight displayed high level MMA, and it showed fans that these fighters may soon be competing amongst the stars within the lightweight division. Ultimately, one judge gave Ismagulov all three rounds, resulting in him winning by split decision. Despite being a very close fight, and an understandable split decision, it is a travesty to the sport for a fighter to win by 29-28 on one scorecard, but lose 30-27 on another.

In the Co-main event, we witnessed fan favorite (Kevin Holland), show improvements on the ground after getting a submission win over the veteran, Tim Means. Kevin Holland won 2020 fighter of the year after winning 5 fights within just 7 months. This soon came to an end after he faced a couple of the division’s top wrestlers in Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori. Since dropping down to Welterweight, and refining his skills on the ground, Kevin Holland seems to have made huge improvements this year. Kevin Holland used his time in the spotlight to call out a SteadyPicks fan favorite, Sean Brady.

Lastly, in the main event of the evening, we saw 5 rounds of a contender worthy performance from both Josh Emmett and Calvin Kattar. This gives the #2 PFP champion (Volkanovski), yet another dance partner in the future. Although Josh Emmett called for a title shot in his post-fight speech, it remains to be seen if that wish will be granted. Regardless, Emmett seems to be at most, one more win away from that title shot. Josh Emmett brings an interesting stylistic matchup for everyone in the featherweight division. He’s a dangerous striker, with world class wrestling in his back pocket. He presents an interesting matchup to Volkanovski, or Max Holloway.

 

Overall, it was a great night of fight. UFC Fight night returns to the Apex center next weekend, headlined by lightweights Arman Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot.

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