UFC 249 - Calvin Kattar finishes Jeremy Stephens with a nasty elbow strike
There's just no stopping Calvin Kattar. The prolific UFC featherweight added another highlight-reel finish to his repertoire by knocking out Jeremy Stephens at UFC 249. It was a back and forth encounter until halfway through the second round when a devastating elbow strike by Kattar sent Stephens crashing down to the mat. Another follow up elbow split Stephens open and the referee stepped in to put him out of his misery.
Kattar is coming for the featherweight title
At the post-fight press conference, Kattar said that he is coming for the featherweight title and no one can do a thing about it.
“I’ve been learning as I’ve been going, and I’ve been doing it with tough fights. These featherweights are in big trouble when I put it all together.”
Stephens went on the offense from the beginning of the contest, throwing haymakers at Kattar in the opening round, missing out narrowly. Stephens also chopped away at Kattar's legs with relentless kicks, controlling the pace of the fight during the early exchanges. Kattar made his way back into the fight after landing a devastating right hand that rocked Stephens.
Kattar slowly gained an upper hand in the contest, teeing away at Stephens and chopping away at his legs, giving him a taste of his own medicine. Halfway through the second round, both fighters engaged in a stand and bang contest, with Kattar unleashing a nasty elbow that split Stephens right open. That was it for Stephens as the referee stepped in to stop the fight.
With this win, Kattar now has three wins in his last four fights with his only defeat coming at the hands of another huge featherweight prospect Zabit Magomedsharipov.