UFC 300: Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill continues on the prelims with a fight in the featherweight division between Calvin Kattar and Aljamain Sterling. Kattar is coming off a defeat where he suffered a knee injury mid-fight which required knee surgery meanwhile, Sterling is making his featherweight debut after he lost his bantamweight title back at UFC 292. With that said, check out our UFC odds series for our Kattar-Sterling prediction and pick.
Calvin Kattar (23-7) had back-to-back tough losses to Josh Emmett via a split decision that many believed he won and then tearing his ACL in the second round against Arnold Allen. This will be his first fight post-surgery and in 18 months when he welcomes the former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling to the featherweight division.
Aljamain Sterling (23-4) lost his bantamweight title as he was knocked out against the current champ Sean O'Malley back at UFC 292. After that loss, he stated his time at bantamweight was over and now he has his eyes set on featherweight gold. Sterling will be looking to make a statement when he takes on Calvin Kattar in his UFC featherweight debut at UFC 300 this weekend.
Here are the UFC 300 Odds, courtesy of BetOnline.
UFC 300 Odds: Calvin Kattar-Aljamain Sterling Odds
Calvin Kattar: +145
Aljamain Sterling: -170
Over 2.5 rounds: -220
Under 2.5 rounds: +180
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Why Calvin Kattar Will Win
Calvin Kattar has had some really bad luck lately. He dropped a decision to Josh Emmett that many believed that he won handily. Then he blew out his ACL when he fought Arnold Allen which resulted in him having surgery and putting him on the shelf for the next 18 months. Kattar is finally going to make his return to the Octagon this weekend after a lengthy absence when he welcomes the former bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling to the featherweight division.
When Kattar is on his game he's one of the best 145ers in the UFC but there are certainly question marks surrounding his surgery-repaired ACL. He will be taking on a one-track-minded grappler in Sterling who's not going to spend much time on the feet as he will be looking to get the fight to the ground as early as possible. The good thing for Kattar is that he's shown exceptional takedown defense during his time in the UFC with a 91% takedown defense. The last time Kattar was taken down was when Zabit Magomedsheripov, who's now retired, took him down one time in four attempts with only 52 seconds of control time. If Kattar can keep this fight on the feet then it's fight to lose when he gets back into the Octagon this weekend.
Why Aljamain Sterling Will Win
Aljamain Sterling was one of the greatest bantamweight champions in UFC history until his title reign was diminished after Sean O'Malley emphatically knocked him out in the second round. Sterling already had the notion he was moving up in weight before the loss cutting to 135 lbs has been a detriment to his game. Now, he will be making his featherweight debut when he takes on Calvin Kattar this weekend at UFC 300.
Sterling was one of the best grapplers at 135 lbs and now moving up to 145 lbs he looks to stake that same claim in his new weight class. He didn't sugarcoat what his intentions are and he expects to submit Kattar in round two which are lofty expectations to have against a fighter that has been submitted only once in his career but never in the UFC. However, if anyone can be the first one to submit Kattar in the UFC it could be Sterling. It's going to come down to Sterling being able to navigate the jab of Kattar to get on the inside so that can he shoot for takedowns. From there, Sterling will look to become the human backpack to eventually find the neck and get the submission victory in a perfect world. As long as Sterling can land takedowns and control Kattar he's got the chance to be successful in his featherweight debut.
Final Calvin Kattar-Aljamain Sterling Prediction & Pick
This is a fantastic fight for Aljamain Sterling's featherweight debut. It pits Sterling against a longtime contender in the featherweight division. A win for Sterling would put him right in the mix in the featherweight rankings to contend for a title shot. With that said, in a perfect world Sterling bypasses the strikes from Kattar and shoots for a double to take him down eventually getting his back to find the submission but that is a lot easier said than done.
Ultimately, the way that Kattar has fended off takedowns during his time in the UFC and the way that Sterling struggled mightily with his takedowns against O'Malley leads me to believe that the takedowns aren't going to come easy, and if they don't that's when Kattar puts it on Sterling and either gets him out of there late in this fight or gets the nod on the judge's scorecards.
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Final Calvin Kattar-Aljamain Sterling Prediction & Pick: Calvin Kattar (+145), Over 2.5 Rounds (-220)
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