A featherweight matchup has the chance to steal the show when the Octagon returns on July 12.
The top fights at UFC Nashville have a good chance of ending the night in some violent knockout finishes considering the fighters that are involved.
Derrick Lewis is the UFC’s knockout record holder for a reason and we’ve already seen from Tallison Teixeira, his opponent, that the Brazilian packs a punch.
There’s always a chance of seeing a striking clinic when Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson is in action and Gabriel Bonfim will be looking to make a statement on Saturday.
However, there is another fighter on the card who in recent times, has the best track record for putting opponents away of anyone that will make the walk in the Bridgestone Arena.
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Steve Garcia is looking to produce his sixth consecutive knockout win inside the Octagon at UFC Nashville
In a featherweight matchup on the main card, top 15 veteran Calvin Kattar will look to bounce back from a tough run of results by halting the momentum of Steve Garcia.
While Kattar is certainly the more experienced opponent, having shared the Octagon with some of the best fighters in the division, he is winless in his last four outings.
Garcia, on the other hand, hasn’t just been climbing up the 145-pound ladder, he’s been knocking opponents down a few rungs with each of his recent performances.
‘Mean Machine’ has bounced back from his last defeat in June of 2022 by putting together five consecutive wins where he has stopped each opponent with strikes.
The 33-year-old continued his momentum through 2024 by producing two performance of the night bonus winning first-round knockouts over Seung Woo Choi and Kyle Nelson.
If he is able to produce his sixth consecutive knockout win, Garcia will be joining a very exclusive club of fighters who have achieved this feat.
UFC legend Don Frye and Sergei Pavlovich have both hit six in a row while Chuck Liddell holds the record with seven.
Garcia is currently tied with some of the hardest hitters in the history of the sport with the likes of Conor McGregor, Francis Ngannou, Stipe Miocic, Junior dos Santos and Matt Brown all producing five-fight KO streaks.
Finishing Calvin Kattar will be a big ask for even someone as dangerous as Steve Garcia
Through 32 professional fights, the only ‘knockout’ loss on Calvin Kattar’s record is from his fight with Arnold Allen in 2022 where a knee injury caused an abrupt ending to the action.
Kattar may have struggled in his recent fights but his toughness is still one of his best attributes.
The fan favorite famously absorbed the most significant strikes that anyone has ever been hit by in a UFC fight when he came up against Max Holloway and went the five-round distance.
It’s certainly a difficult matchup for the 37-year-old who will be looking to prove that he still belongs in the top 15 after coming up short against some of the division’s top names.