For the first time since 2018, the UFC is going to the capital of Texas.
MMA Fighting confirmed this past weekend that featherweight contenders Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett will serve as the main event for UFC Austin at the Frank Erwin Center on June 18th.
Kattar (23-5) is coming off a spectacular performance against Giga Chikadze, winning a five-round decision and earning a Fight of the Night bonus in the process. It was a tremendous display after a brutal main event loss to Max Holloway in January 2021. This will be Kattar’s fourth consecutive headlining spot, having started his run of main events with a decision win over Dan Ige in 2020.
Emmett (17-2) returned from a long injury layoff at UFC 269 to win a three-round decision over Dan Ige. Since returning to featherweight in October 2017, Emmett’s vaunted power has resulted in 11 knockdowns, as well as knockouts of Ricardo Lamas, Michael Johnson, and Mirsad Bektic. He battled through a torn ACL to win a thrilling Fight of the Night decision over Shane Burgos in June 2020, but the ACL injury along with other setbacks shelved him for 18 months.
Current UFC rankings have Kattar at No. 4 and Emmett at No. 7, and there’s no doubt that the winner is very much in the mix for title contention.
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