“The Boston Finisher” hasn’t had one in more than four years, and now it appears he’ll have to wait a little longer to pursue another one.
Longtime UFC featherweight contender Calvin Kattar (23-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) is out of his fight against rising Canadian standout Kyle Nelson (16-5-1 MMA, 4-4-1 UFC) next month. The two were set to meet at the UFC’s Sept. 7 Fight Night event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
A person with knowledge of Kattar’s withdrawal informed MMA Junkie of the news, but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has not yet made an official announcement. The promotion is seeking a new opponent for Nelson to keep him on the card.
Kattar was looking to snap a three-fight losing skid. He most recently lost a unanimous decision at UFC 300 to former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. The bout was Kattar’s first since a knee injury that required surgery during his October 2022 bout vs. Arnold Allen.
Nelson started 1-4-1 in the UFC, but since has won three straight. After decisions over Blake Bilder and Fernando Padilla, Nelson picked up his biggest UFC win yet in March when he finished Bill Algeo with a first-round knockout.
With the change, the UFC’s Sept. 7 lineup now includes:
- Gilbert Burns vs. Sean Brady
- Jessica Andrade vs. Natalia Silva
- Kyle Nelson vs. TBA
- Alessandro Costa vs. Matt Schnell
- Felipe dos Santos vs. Andre Lima
- Jaqueline Amorim vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
- Isaac Dulgarian vs. Brendon Marotte
- Dylan Budka vs. Andre Petroski
- Gabriel Santos vs. Yi Zha
- Yanal Ashmouz vs. Trevor Peek
- Marcus McGhee vs. Aiemann Zahabi
- Ovince Saint Preux vs. Ryan Spann
- Chris Padilla vs. Rong Zhu
