UFC Austin goes down on Saturday night at the Moody Centre in Austin, Texas. In the main event, top 10 featherweights Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett will battle it out in a potential title eliminator.
Kattar is coming off a dominant unanimous decision victory over Giga Chikadze at UFC Vegas 46, whereas Emmett is currently riding a four fight winning streak, with his most recent win coming against Dan Ige.
UFC Austin Analysis And Prediction
Kattar is a very well-rounded fighter. He comes from a wrestling background but prefers to keep things standing as he has crisp boxing and vicious knockout power. Emmett also has a background in wrestling but prefers a striking contest. He is a vicious puncher, who has scored eleven knockdowns in his last seven fights. Kattar is more technical on the feet, however, and will rely on his volume and combinations to disrupt Emmett’s rhythm.
‘The Boston Finisher’ has the edge in the striking as far as offence is concerned. He lands five and a half significant strikes per minute on average, whereas Emmett lands a little over four. Emmett is better defensively as he absorbs four significant strikes per minute on average, whereas Kattar absorbs nearly eight. However, almost half of the strikes Kattar has absorbed in his UFC career were landed by Max Holloway in a record-breaking performance at UFC on ABC 1.
Emmett is more likely to wrestle if things get tough as he lands more than one takedown per 15 minutes, and has a decent takedown accuracy. Kattar also has an excellent takedown defence though. Kattar is more experienced when it comes to five round fights, and a longer fight will favour him as his opponent has never gone past the third round.
Expect Kattar to outstrike Emmett and score a late knockout.
Prediction: Calvin Kattar by knockout
Betting Odds:
Calvin Kattar (-230)
Josh Emmett (+195)
Who do you think will win the featherweight main event between Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett at UFC Austin?
