On Wednesday, Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige will go to war in a five-round main event.
Going in, both men have been very successful in 2020 thus far, with Ige securing two wins and Kattar coming off a recent victory over Jeremy Stephens back in May. Kattar currently holds the number six spot in the division rankings, whereas Ige is at number ten.
Ideally, a fighter in his position would angle to face a competitor in the top five spots; however, Kattar didn’t hesitate to take the match-up against the featherweight as he wanted to have a busy year and plus, he respects what Ige brings into the octagon:
“I wanted to have a busy year this year, especially the way I finished off last year in November,” Kattar said to MMA Junkie. “I want to go 3-0 this year. I took a little late start. We were supposed to fight in March, then April, then it turned out May. A quick turnaround puts me right back on schedule. That’s it. I’m happy to have a big opportunity here – main event, Dan Ige. I got the green light from my manager and we took it. We jumped.”
Even though Kattar has respect for Ige, the 32-year-old plans on knocking out his respective opponent this Wednesday evening:
“Yeah, he’s a tough kid, man,” Kattar said. “He’s done what he’s had to do to the last six guys. I think we’re similar in the fact we’ve both been overlooked most of our careers. Here we are, (a) main event (on) ‘Fight Island.’ I’m not like the last six guys he’s fought. I won’t overlook him. He’s got my full attention. Come Wednesday, I’m going to take him out.”
Kattar is expecting his win over Ige to get him into title contention. Despite being positioned at number six, the MMA veteran believes that staying busy is what will get him a title opportunity sooner than later:
“A win over him puts me in that mix, where if you want to fight, you’ve got to stay busy. If there’s one thing I’ve shown, it’s that.”
UFC on ESPN 13 takes place Wednesday at Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The event airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.