One of the UFC Nashville stars delivered a 2020 finish that might have left Conor McGregor smiling.
The mixed martial arts leader is back in ‘Music City’ next weekend to stage the sole UFC Fight Night between the UFC 317 and UFC 318 pay-per-views.
Before Dustin Poirier retires at UFC 318 on July 19, all eyes will be on the return of the promotion’s all-time leader in knockouts, as Derrick Lewis looks to add to his tally of brutal finishes in Nashville.
But ‘The Black Beast’ won’t be the only fighter taking to the cage who has an impressive reel of devastating stoppages, and one in particular from Calvin Kattar will rival the best of them.
Calvin Kattar flattened Jeremy Stephens with devastating elbows in 2020 knockout
Among those setting the stage for Lewis’ main event against Tallison Teixeira on Saturday’s UFC Nashville card will be featherweight veteran Calvin Kattar.
Despite being nicknamed ‘The Boston Finisher’, the 37-year-old hasn’t recorded a finish in his past seven fights. Kattar will look to end that five-year drought against Steve Garcia by returning to the kind of violent ways that saw him brutally stop Jeremy Stephens.
Kattar’s last stoppage victory came at UFC 249 in May 2020, where he joined the likes of Francis Ngannou and Justin Gaethje in making a splash in the promotion’s return to action during the pandemic.
Midway through round two, Kattar flattened Stephens with a perfectly timed elbow. Pouncing on a dazed ‘Lil Heathen’, Kattar proceeded to slice his rival open with another elbow on the ground before referee Jason Herzog stepped in.
The devastating finish no doubt made for good viewing in the McGregor household. The Irishman memorably had a hilarious back-and-forth with Stephens at a UFC press conference back in 2016.
Conor McGregor named Jeremy Stephens as one of three potential BKFC opponents
Before making a surprise UFC return to compete in front of his home fans in Des Moines this past May, Stephens found success in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
After wins over Jimmie Rivera and Bobby Taylor, ‘Lil Heathen’ moved to 3-0 in the rising promotion by forcing a corner stoppage against former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez this past January.
That performance evidently caught the eye of the BKFC part-owner, as McGregor named Stephens as one of three opponents he could face should he compete in bare-knuckle boxing down the line.
“There are many bouts, showcase bouts. You could say Mike Perry. You could say Jeremy Stephens. You could say a rematch against Eddie Alvarez. You could say many matches.
“But the lightweight title, who’s the champion right now? Lightweight, welterweight, let’s see. I am open. We will see when it comes.”