Methuen, Mass. native Calvin Kattar will have one of the biggest fights of his career on Saturday night, that could jump him into title contention.
The No. 4 ranked UFC featherweight will take on No. 7 ranked Josh Emmett at UFC Fight Night in Austin, Texas at Moody Center on June 18. Kattar (23-5) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Giga Chikadze at "UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Chikadze" on Jan. 15, 2022; the fight earned fight of the night honors. Emmett (17-2) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over against Dan Ige at UFC 269 on Dec. 11, 2021.
DraftKings Sportsbook has priced Kattar as a -230 favorite over Emmett (+195) for their main event bout. If "The Boston Finisher" wins and puts on a good performance, he will likely boost himself on the top of the pecking order to take on UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Kattar won't be the only Mass. representative at UFC Fight Night. Bridgewater resident Joe Lauzon will take on "Cowboy" Donald Cerrone in the co-main event. Lauzon (28-15) is coming off a bounce-back win, via technical knockout, against Jonathan Pearce at "UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman" on Oct. 18, 2019. Cerrone (36-16) is hoping to get back on the win column after five straight losses and one no-contest. His last fight was against Alex Morono at "UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson" on May 8, 2021 where he lost via TKO.
Cerrone is the favorite in the lightweight fight, priced at -165. Lauzon is a +140 underdog. The fight was originally scheduled on April 30 but moved to May 7 before being pushed back again for June 18 after Cerrone fell ill with a stomach ailment.
New England is represented well for UFC Fight Night, and hopefully it ends with victories for both Kattar and Lauzon.
