Josh Emmett strengthened his case for a chance at the UFC featherweight championship on Saturday, winning a split decision against Calvin Kattar in the main show of UFC Fight Night in Texas.
At the Moody Center in Austin, Josh Emmett fought Calvin Kattar in a featherweight main event. Emmett put up a strong performance on way to a split decision victory over the New England Cartel’s top fighters.
Both combatants started with a lot of feints as if they were just trying to figure each other out before going all out. While Emmett used huge combinations to reduce the gap, Kattar used his characteristic jab to keep the space.
Josh Emmett Crawled Past Calvin Kattar In The Third Round
Even if ‘The Boston Finsher‘ may have dropped the close round, ‘The Boston Finsher’ sliced Emmett clean above the left eye. The second frame was just as tight, though Kattar’s jabs looked to be hitting their mark more frequently. Due to Kattar’s inaction in the last seconds, the round most likely went to Emmett. In round three, Emmett easily edged out Kattar, striking the body repeatedly while ‘The Boston Finisher’ battled to maintain space. In round four, though, the New England Cartel’s best fought back, landing whirling elbows and knees while effectively stuffing takedown attempts.
The final frame was a nail-biter, with Emmett giving it his all in the final seconds. The 37-year-old did enough by the time the final bell rang to earn a split decision victory. Both boxers will get an additional $50,000 when the match was named Fight of the Night. Following Josh Emmett’s split decision victory against Calvin Kattar in the big show of UFC Austin, it was evident that calling the tight bout “a heist” would be a gross overstatement.
However, a closer examination of the judges’ scorecards reveals that there may be a case to be made.