Two well-traveled but relevant Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight contenders will collide when Calvin Kattar meets Josh Emmett in the UFC on ESPN 37 headliner this Saturday at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Neither man wants to get lost in the shuffle at 145 pounds.
Kattar has rattled off five wins over his past outings. The EliteXC alum last competed at UFC on ESPN 32, where he outpointed Kings MMA standout Giga Chikadze to a five-round unanimous decision. Emmett, meanwhile, climbs into the Octagon on the strength of a four-fight winning streak. The Team Alpha Male rep last fought on Dec. 11, when he took a unanimous verdict from Dan Ige at UFC 269.
As Kattar and Emmett approach their pivotal five-round clash, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
34: Years of age for Kattar, who was born on March 26, 1988 in Methuen, Massachusetts.
11: Kattar wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 48% of his career total (23). His list of UFC victims: Jeremy Stephens, Ricardo Lamas, Chris Fishgold and Shane Burgos. Kattar owns two other wins by submission and 10 more by decision.
76.1: Significant strikes landed by Kattar per UFC appearance. He has connected on 761 such strikes across his 10 assignments inside the Octagon, including a career-best 144 of them in his aforementioned victory over Chikadze.
3: Sub-minute finishes on the Kattar resume. He struck Bob Pupa into submission in 51 seconds at Combat Zone 24 on Oct. 13, 2007, punched out Kevin Roddy in 47 seconds at Combat Zone 26 on Sept. 26, 2008 and cut down Jonathan Bermudez with punches in 29 seconds at Combat Zone 27 on Feb. 6, 2009.
83: Combined victories between the five men—Max Holloway, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Renato Carneiro, Don Carlo-Clauss and James Jones—who have beaten Kattar. They sport a cumulative .697 winning percentage (83-35-1).
37: Years of age for Emmett, who was born in Phoenix on March 4, 1985.
6: Emmett victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 35% of his career total (17). His list of UFC victims: Lamas, Mirsad Bektic and Michael Johnson. Emmett holds two other wins by submission and nine more by decision.
45: Seconds needed for Emmett to punch out Noah Schnable under the West Coast Fighting Championship banner on Nov. 16, 2013. Having occurred eight-plus years ago, it remains his fastest finish to date.
36: Professional rounds completed by Emmett as a mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 10 different occasions and carries a 9-1 record in those bouts.
.650: Cumulative winning percentage between the two opponents—Stephens and Desmond Green—who have defeated Emmett. They boast a combined record of 52-28.