Calvin Kattar continued his rise up the featherweight ladder with an impressive decision victory over Dan Ige early Thursday.
The fight served as the main event of the second UFC show at the Flash Forum on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, following UFC 251 four days earlier.
It was a high-stakes showdown in a loaded featherweight division, with Kattar ranked sixth and Ige ranked 10th. Kattar used precise striking and takedown defense to turn back the challenge of his opponent.
Kattar spent the opening minutes trying to find his range as Ige dipped in and out with strikes. Eventually, Kattar found his mark and landed a crisp left hand and followed with an uppercut. Ige recognized that he may be in danger and shot for an ill-fated takedown. Kattar continued to demonstrate precise striking and sunk body shots and short hooks into Ige. Kattar closed the round with a flying knee and a series of body shots.
Kattar played the role of sniper in the second round and picked off Ige whenever he got in range. But Ige landed a huge left hook that bloodied Kattar's nose. Ige found success going to the body of his taller opponent and used lateral movement to keep from falling into a predictable rhythm. The two engaged in a frantic exchange in the closing minute, with Kattar barely missing what could have been a fight-ending flying knee. But Ige certainly earned his opponent's respect in the stanza.
Both fighters were more cautious in the third round and picked their spots to explode. Ige found his mark to the body while Kattar landed several counters whenever Ige rushed in. Kattar began pulling away in the fourth round as he landed with more frequency while Ige showed that he was battling exhaustion just as much as the man standing across the cage from him.
The pace slowed in the final round. Ige continued to fail at his takedown attempts while Kattar popped his foe with a long jab and body shots. Kattar put an exclamation point on his victory by reversing a takedown attempt, landing in Ige's guard and landing some ground and pound until the round ended.
Kattar took the fight with scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. He will now look to face a top-five opponent in the division.
In the co-main event, Tim Elliott won a high-paced bout with Ryan Benoit by a close unanimous decision. Each round could have gone either way, but Elliott's striking behind an efficient jab made the difference.
After a closely contested opening frame, the pace picked up as both fighters exchanged submission attempts in the second. Elliott came close to sinking in a guillotine while Benoit locked in a kneebar that forced a grimace out of his opponent, but the latter wasn't enough to get the tap-out. Elliott likely snared the round with a blitz of elbows in the closing seconds.
Both fighters were aware that the fight was up for grabs in the final stanza and went to work. Elliott's jab was sharp and racked up points as Benoit charged in to score with lunging punches. Elliott was the sharper of the two and squeezed out the decision with all three scorecards reading 29-28 in his favor.
UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Ige full fight card results
Main card
- Calvin Kattar def. Dan Ige via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47).
- Tim Elliott def. Ryan Benoit via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
- Jimmie Rivera def. Cody Stamann via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
- Talia Santos def. Molly McCann via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
- Mounir Lazzez def. Abdul Razak Alhassan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Prelims
- Khamzat Chimaev def. John Phillips via 2nd-round submission (1:12).
- Jared Gordon def. Chris Fishgold via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26).
- Lerone Murphy def. Ricardo Ramos via 1st-round TKO (4:18).
- Modestas Bukauskas def. Andreas Michailidis via 1st-round TKO (5:00).
- Liana Jojua def. Diana Belbita via 1st-round submission (2:23).
- Jack Shore def. Aaron Phillips via 2nd-round submission (2:29).