UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night: Calvin Kattar vs. Josh Emmett 

This weekend sees the UFC head to Austin, Texas for its latest Fight Night card. While it lacks the name value of a big pay-per-view, it still looks like a strong event.

UFC Fight Night: Calvin Kattar vs. Josh Emmett features not only an excellent headliner, but some great talent up and down the card.

With that in mind, here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Calvin Kattar vs. Josh Emmett.

---

#1. UFC featherweight division: Calvin Kattar vs. Josh Emmett

Can Calvin Kattar avoid the brutal power punches of Josh Emmett this weekend?

In terms of name value, there’s probably an argument to suggest that this headline bout is lacking a little, but in terms of potential excitement as well as ramifications for the UFC’s featherweight title picture, it’s definitely a big one.

Right now, Calvin Kattar is ranked at No.4 in the division, while Josh Emmett is slightly lower at No.7. That means that while neither man is likely to cement a title shot with a win here, they could definitely put themselves in line for a top contender’s clash next time out.

Both men have been on excellent runs as of late, but interestingly, it’s Emmett who has the lengthier winning streak. He hasn’t lost since a violent and semi-controversial 2018 defeat to Jeremy Stephens, and is currently riding a 4-0 run, with the most recent win coming over Dan Ige.

Kattar, meanwhile, defeated Giga Chikadze in January in what was his first fight following a pretty decisive loss to Max Holloway a year prior. Before that, he’d also beaten Ige and Stephens, knocking the latter out in impressive fashion.

Is this likely to be a battle of strikers? On the face of it, probably. Kattar is essentially a straight-ahead kickboxer who tends to rely on his punches for the most part. While Emmett does have a powerful wrestling background, he also tends to wing heavy shots to win his fights.

Overall, ‘The Boston Finisher’ is almost definitely the smoother striker. His boxing skills are excellent, with only Holloway proving capable of picking him apart, and he chains combinations together brilliantly.

Emmett, on the other hand, is more stiff on the feet and can be picked apart and hurt, as we saw in his bout with Michael Johnson. Of course, his power is the great equaliser, as whenever he lands cleanly, he tends to put his foes away.

So who is likely to come out on top here? The biggest question is probably whether Kattar’s chin can hold up under the power that Emmett is likely to throw at him. Emmett has the power to switch any fighter off instantly, but to do that, he’s got to land cleanly first, and that puts him in danger.

With that in mind, as long as Kattar can avoid eating the perfect shot, then theoretically at least, this should be his fight to lose.

The Pick: Kattar via decision

#2. UFC lightweight division: Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon

Does Donald Cerrone have enough left in the tank to beat Joe Lauzon?

This clash of longtime veterans – and action heroes – was supposed to take place back in May at UFC 274. When Donald Cerrone was forced out due to food poisoning, it was moved to this card. Obviously, that isn’t a bad thing for this weekend’s event.

Both Cerrone and his opponent Joe Lauzon are probably on the final furlong of their careers in the octagon, but based on their past history, this should still be an excellent and exciting clash. Neither man can compete with opponents in their prime now, but with both men past that, it should be a fairly evenly matched fight.

For Cerrone, this will mark his first fight in over a year. The last time we saw ‘Cowboy’, he was stopped by Alex Morono in perhaps his most disappointing outing in the UFC. In fact, he now hasn’t won a bout since May 2019.

Lauzon, meanwhile, is coming off a win – a TKO of the unheralded Jonathan Pearce – but that was back in October 2019. Prior to that, he’d lost three in a row, being stopped by TKO in two of those fights.

So who has the edge here? It’s honestly hard to say. In their prime, Cerrone would clearly have been considered the better striker, with both men’s ground skills likely being able to cancel the other’s out. With that considered, ‘Cowboy’ would’ve been the obvious pick.

However, while Cerrone is still the better kickboxer, his chin seems to be shot to hell now, to the point where Morono, who had never shown big power in the octagon, was able to turn his lights out with relative ease.

Given that Lauzon did manage to stop his last opponent, that should provide him with some hope, but he hasn’t fought for so long that it’s hard to imagine him returning in top form. More to the point, he’s pushing 40 in his own right and isn’t that durable any more either.

Overall this is an absolute coin toss between two fighters who could fold under the first power shot that lands, but given he’s been more active and is more dangerous on the feet, the pick is Cerrone.

The Pick: Cerrone via first-round KO

#3. UFC Fight Night: The Main Card

Fan favourite Kevin Holland is set to compete on this weekend's main card

In a welterweight bout, Kevin Holland takes on Tim Means. This one should be a fun bout to watch, purely because both men are long, lanky UFC 170lbers. But in reality, despite his current three-fight win streak, Means is way past his best at this point.

He could still be a danger to Holland, but realistically, ‘Trailblazer’ only lost two UFC bouts in 2021 due to a lack of wrestling defense and Means isn’t likely to try to take him down. Therefore, the pick is Holland via TKO.

In a middleweight clash, Joaquin Buckley will take on Albert Duraev. Buckley hasn’t quite reached the heights that his viral spinning kick knockout in 2020 suggested he might, but he’s still a dangerous striker with plenty of KO power and explosive tendencies.

Duraev has fought just once in the UFC previously, but he’s also on a lengthy winning streak, has excellent skills in all areas, and looked excellent on the ground in his octagon debut, even if he gassed out. With that in mind, unless Buckley can catch him early, it should be the Russian’s fight. Duraev via decision is the pick.

In a lightweight bout, Damir Ismagulov will welcome Guram Kutateladze back to the octagon. This one is a tricky clash to pick as Ismagulov is riding a four-fight win streak, while Kutateladze hasn’t fought since October 2020, but looked brilliant in his win over Mateusz Gamrot.

MMA math doesn’t always work, naturally, but given how good Gamrot has looked since that loss, as well as Kutateladze’s impressive record, the pick is ‘The Georgian Viking’ via decision.

Finally, Julian Marquez will square off with Gregory Rodrigues in an intriguing middleweight bout. Marquez has not fought in over a year, but looked excellent in both of his UFC fights in 2021, winning both via submission.

Rodrigues, meanwhile, was unlucky to lose to Armen Petrosyan in his most recent fight. Prior to that, he’d won four in a row, with three coming via TKO.

The big question here, though, is whether ‘Robocop’ can stop Marquez from taking him down, as ‘The Cuban Missile Crisis’ is probably the better grappler. Given that Marquez is a good striker in his own right, he’s likely to be able to find a way to get this one down. The pick is Marquez via submission.

---

#4. UFC Fight Night: The Prelims

Picks in bold

Bantamweight division: Adrian Yanez vs. Tony Kelley

Women's flyweight division: Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Natalia Silva

Welterweight division: Court McGee vs. Jeremiah Wells

Featherweight division: Ricardo Ramos vs. Danny Chavez

Bantamweight division: Eddie Wineland vs. Cody Stamann

Women's strawweight division: Maria Oliveira vs. Gloria de Paula

Middleweight division: Phil Hawes vs. Deron Winn

Middleweight division: Roman Dolidze vs. Kyle Daukaus