AUSTIN, Texas – Calvin Kattar isn’t sure what to think.
His thoughts during the fight didn’t reflect the final outcomes from the judges after it, so it’s honestly all sort of confusing. Kattar (23-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) lost a close split decision Saturday to Josh Emmett (18-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 37 main event at Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
“I just thought I was going to get my hand raised at the end of it,” said on the ESPN+ post-fight show moments after his loss. “I didn’t care, we give a sh*t if it’s unanimous or a split. I thought I did enough to win the fight. Josh is a class act, a tough kid. Congrats to him and his team.
“… There was never a point I thought I could sit back, but I thought I was edging him out, especially the longer the fight went. The fifth round, I thought I took it. I know he wanted to stand in the center and bang but I mean, that’d be cool I guess if I wasn’t up in the fight, maybe. I thought I was landing the better shots, but I’m not a judge. It went the way it did, but I thought I did enough to win the fight.”
The biggest concern of his, Kattar admitted both in his post-fight interview and to his coach Tyson Chartier during the fight itself, was Emmett’s power. “He’s loading up,” Kattar told Chartier in between rounds. Kattar never experienced that power in a fight-ending sense, but he ultimately lost anyway.
“Obviously, he’s got a lot of power,” Kattar said. “You’re dealing with adversity. You’re listening to that voice telling you to get small or you tell it to shut up and get big. Just working my way through the fight, Josh presented a lot of problems as a top featherweight would do. I thought I did enough to overcome them but I guess the judges saw it another way.”
Where does he go from here? Kattar isn’t sure. He still thinks the decision, which was highly debated among fans and reporters, should have swung his way. He’ll have to rewatch and find out what the deal is.
“I thought I did enough to beat a high-level caliber opponent,” Kattar said. “I just have to go back, check the tape, see what’s up. I’ve really got more questions than anything.”
