UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige - Predictions and Picks
This weekend sees the UFC make its long-awaited debut on ‘Fight Island’ – otherwise known as Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. But just four days after UFC 251, the promotion is putting another show on in the same location.
UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige takes place next Wednesday, and naturally, the card isn’t anywhere near as strong as the one this weekend. It’s also seen a number of COVID-19 related changes – including the scrapping of its co-main event, Frankie Edgar vs. Pedro Munhoz.
There are still some fun fights on tap though, making it worth a look.
Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige.
#1 UFC Featherweight Division: Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige
The winner of this clash will definitely move up the UFC Featherweight ladder, as Kattar is currently ranked at #6, and Ige at #10. Will they move into title contention, though? It’s hard to say given the division is full of talent above them, names like Zabit Magomedsharipov, Yair Rodriguez, Brian Ortega, and the Korean Zombie.
Of the two, Kattar is more likely to force his way into the UFC title picture. His only recent loss came to Magomedsharipov in a very close fight that may have gone the other way had it been over five rounds. His most recent win came in May, a violent knockout of Jeremy Stephens at UFC 249 after a wildly exciting firefight.
Kattar’s main strength comes from his boxing skill. His hands are remarkably quick, he chains clean combinations together and loves to go to the body as well as the head, and he’s willing to sit behind a jab at times.
More notably, as his nickname – ‘The Boston Finisher’ – would suggest, he’s absolutely ruthless when he has an opponent hurt. Close fights with Stephens and Shane Burgos ended literally seconds after Kattar hurt the two men. And he ended tough veteran Ricardo Lamas in a rush with less than a minute remaining in the opening round.
Does he have any weaknesses? Sure. He doesn’t tend to start too quickly, and that can allow an opponent to pull ahead of him on the scorecards. While his toughness has been enough to keep him in his fights with Burgos, Stephens, and Zabit, the slow start definitely cost him the latter fight. Over five rounds though, that might be nullified.
It’s also been notable that Kattar has somewhat of a weakness when it comes to defending leg kicks. Again, it’s not like he’s been stopped by them or anything, but Stephens and Zabit both had success using them against him. And his 2018 loss to Renato Moicano at UFC 223 came almost purely because of them.
In terms of grappling, we haven’t seen too much of him on the ground, but equally, that’s unlikely to be a factor in this fight given Ige’s penchant for striking.
Ige is a bit trickier to get a true hold on. ‘Dynamite’ was beaten by Julio Arce in his 2018 UFC debut. Since then, he’s gone 6-0, but only really came to the forefront earlier in 2020 when he out-pointed the highly-rated Mirsad Bektic at UFC 247.
That fight saw him take the action to the Bosnian by hitting him with aggressive, fast striking combinations in the early rounds. It’s worth noting though that the decision could easily have gone the other way due to Bektic’s domination in the grappling department.
Similar could be said for Ige's most recent win over Edson Barboza. That fight saw Ige largely beaten up in the first round by Barboza’s striking, and he found himself badly hurt in the second too. The third saw him use his swarming style to take over – particularly once he put the tired Brazilian on his back – but despite being given the win, most observers scored the fight for Barboza.
For me, that doesn’t bode too well for this fight with Kattar. Ige’s tough, he’s willing to get into a brawl to land his punches, and his cardio is excellent. However, he’s not as technical as Kattar, I don’t think he hits as hard, and equally, Kattar has the chin to take any punishment that comes back at him.
This should be an exciting fight due to the styles of both men. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ige attempt to blitz Kattar early on and try to capitalize on his penchant for a slow start. But overall, I don’t think he has the power to take him out, and down the stretch, Kattar will begin to take over. Ige has never been finished, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Kattar break that stretch here.
The Pick: Kattar via fourth-round TKO