Calvin Kattar is excited about his return to the UFC 300 after a year-long hiatus due to a knee injury, stating that his focus is on his own performance rather than his opponent, former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.
Calvin Kattar’s got a knack for getting pumped about fights. The opponent? Eh, doesn’t matter much.
His comeback at UFC 300, though, feels different. Not because he’s up against Aljamain Sterling, the ex-bantamweight champ, now trying his luck at 145 pounds. Nah, it’s because he’s stepping back in the ring after an ACL tear cut short his October 2022 fight with Arnold Allen.
“I don’t waste time pondering expectations,” Kattar said on The MMA Hour. “I can’t control the crap. I just stay ready. I knew the next one would be a big deal, no matter who I was facing. The last two fights were rough, especially the injury, and the one before that, I felt I won. Should be on a two-fight win streak, plus the injury. It’s frustrating.”
Didn’t work out that way, obviously. But you can’t dwell on what’s out of your control. All he can do? Focus on the next fight, aim for a strong performance, and chase that ‘W’.
Fighting on the historic UFC 300 card isn’t lost on Kattar. He probably got the gig by agreeing to be Sterling’s first featherweight opponent. He’s grateful for that. But really, he just wanted to erase the bitter memories of his previous fight.
His reaction to Sterling as an opponent? “Not much, to be honest,” Kattar admitted. “A bit surprised, maybe, because he’s a former champ. But you need tough opposition for these big moments. Props to him for making this fight happen on such a historic card.”
He feels blessed and honored, but it’d be the same if he was fighting anyone. The next fight’s always the biggest, no matter who it’s against. He didn’t overthink who he was fighting.
Sterling’s facing Kattar after his first loss in nearly six years. Sean O’Malley knocked him out at UFC 292 to claim the UFC bantamweight title. It was a bit of a shock, given Sterling’s track record and O’Malley’s relative inexperience against top fighters.
“I think Sean looked really good,” Kattar said about the fight. “He did a lot of small things really well. I was a bit surprised, but I knew that was a possibility. Sean’s able to create distance and make those shots land. Aljo kind of walked right into those ones.”
“I thought Aljo would have made it a bit more of a dog fight. But hey, that’s how it went down.”
Returning from a serious knee injury that sidelined him for all of 2023, Kattar’s mainly focused on himself, not Sterling. That said, he knows his heavy hands and potential size and power advantage could give Sterling a rough welcome to a new division, just like O’Malley did.
“You’ve got to be prepared for the best version,” Kattar said about Sterling. “A lot of people would say ‘oh a year and a half, you must have some ring rust.’ You put too much stock in that Aljo? Who gives a damn? People say a lot of crap. What’s going to matter is on fight night and it can go one of two ways.”
“I’m going to do everything in my power to make it look like it did last August [for Sterling]. I’m prepared for a hell of a fight and I would love an early finish but I’m prepared for anything that presents itself on Saturday.”
As much as he’ll be asked about Sterling over the next few days leading into UFC 300, Kattar really didn’t care about the opponent or even landing on UFC 300. His biggest concern was coming back healthy from the knee injury that sidelined his career for over a year.
“Big opportunity obviously,” Kattar said. “But coming off a year and almost a half layoff, the next fight was big to me no matter who I was stepping across from and no matter what card I was on. Big moment for me to come back after a long layoff. Excited to put on a hell of a performance.”