UFC on ESPN+ 21 results: Zabit Magomedsharipov outpoints Calvin Kattar after back-and-forth battle in Moscow

MMA News
Marcus A

UFC on ESPN+ 21 results: Zabit Magomedsharipov outpoints Calvin Kattar after back-and-forth battle in Moscow

Zabit Magomedsharipov was made to work for it, but the Dagestani featherweight contender picked up arguably the most important win of his UFC career with a unanimous decision victory over Calvin Kattar at UFC on ESPN+ 21.

The card streamed on ESPN+ from CSKA Arena in Moscow.

The matchup was rearranged from their original booking at UFC on ESPN 6 in October, with the matchup kept as a three-round affair despite headlining status. And after three entertaining rounds, it was Kattar (20-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) who was in the ascendency, but Magomedsharipov (18-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) who was ahead on the scorecards.

Kattar looked to establish his boxing in the first round and had a fair degree of success as he found his timing early in the frame. But Magomedsharipov’s ever-changing stances and angles meant the American could never get truly comfortable. And as the round wore on, Magomedsharipov began to loosen up as he unloaded a plethora of strikes, from lead back elbows to head kicks to low leg kicks, one of which briefly sent Kattar to the canvas.

It set the scene for a fascinating battle between a compact striker with excellent fundamentals and a flamboyant technician with a wide-ranging box of tricks as the pair finished the round with a thrilling toe-to-toe exchange.

In the second round Magomedsharipov continued to mix up his strikes in the hunt for the spectacular, as he threw flying knees, hook kicks and spinning backfists at Kattar. But the Massachusetts native stayed composed and compact, working the jab and following up with strong right hands when Magomedsharipov stepped into the pocket.

A beautiful leg sweep from Magomedsharipov sent Kattar to the canvas again as a chant of “Zabit!” rung around the CSKA Arena. But Kattar steadfastly maintained his ground and looked to counter the Russian, as he loaded up on his right hand. But it seemed that Kattar’s pre-fight assertion that basics would win the fight was beginning to fall behind Magomedsharipov’s sheer variety and frequency of techniques as he scored continually with strikes and trips throughout the round.

A cup shot to Kattar forced a brief injury timeout at the start of the final round, but when the action resumed both men pushed the pace and even found time to exchange a mid-round grin as they tested their mettle against each other in the center of the octagon.

Magomedsharipov started to retreat as Kattar walked the Russian down in a bid to find something big in the final round. And a pair of big left hands gave “The Boston Finisher” his best punches of the fight. Buoyed by that success, Kattar stepped into the pocket and ripped the Russian to the body and head as he enjoyed his best round of the fight. And, after Zabit caught Kattar’s flying knee attempt and took him to the mat, the American stayed in attack mode as he threw a flurry of punches and elbows from his back until the final buzzer.

Despite a strong final round from Kattar, it was Magomedsharipov who got the nod from the judges for his better earlier work as he claimed scores of 29-28 across the board to stretch his undefeated streak in the UFC to six in a row.

And with the Russian setting his sights on the winner of the upcoming featherweight title bout between Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 245 next month, it remains to be seen whether the crowd-pleasing Russian will be installed as the next challenger for the belt.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 21 results include:

UFC on ESPN+ 21 results: Zabit Magomedsharipov outpoints Calvin Kattar after back-and-forth battle in Moscow

Related Posts

UFC 274 results: Charles Oliveira chokes Justin Gaethje in wild first round, now set for vacant title bout

Marcus A

Eddie Alvarez unfazed by Iuri Lapicus’ threat to end his career at ONE on TNT I

Marcus A

Grateful?!

Marcus A