UFC Fight Night Report: Josh Emmett defeats Calvin Kattar by split decision
By: Eric Marcotte
On Saturday evening, the UFC held a Fight Night event at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The card was headlined by a bout in the featherweight division, as Calvin Kattar faced Josh Emmett. Kattar rebounded from a tough loss to Max Holloway with a dominant victory over Giga Chikadze in his last fight, and he was looking to defend his spot as a featherweight contender with another dominant performance here. For Emmett, this marked an opportunity to extend his current four-fight win streak, and move into a top-five position in the division, effectively solidifying his own status as a contender. Both Emmett and Kattar are considered to be hard-hitting fighters, and this fight was practically guaranteed to entertain. The co-main event was originally scheduled to feature two fan favorites fighters colliding, as Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone was expected to face Joe Lauzon, but Lauzon was forced to withdraw from the card on fight day due to a knee injury, and a welterweight fight between Kevin Holland and Tim Means was moved into the co-main event slot in its place.
Brendan Fitzgerald provided commentary for this card alongside Daniel Cormier and Dominick Cruz. Performance of the Night bonuses were awarded to Jeremiah Wells, Ricardo Ramos, Cody Stamann, Phil Hawes, Roman Dolidze, Kevin Holland, Joaquin Buckley, Adrian Yanez, and Gregory Rodrigues. Fight of the Night bonuses went out to Josh Emmett and Calvin Kattar. The announced attendance for this event was 13,689, with a total gate of $1.93 million.
QUICK RESULTS:
PRELIMINARY CARD:
*Roman Dolidze def. Kyle Daukaus by KO at 1:13 of Round 1
*Phil Hawes def. Deron Winn by TKO at 4:25 of Round 2
*Cody Stamann def. Eddie Wineland by TKO at 0:59 of Round 1
*Maria Oliveira def. Gloria De Paula by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
*Ricardo Ramos def. Danny Chavez by KO at 1:12 of Round 1
*Jeremiah Wells def. Court McGee by KO at 1:34 of Round 1
*Natalia Silva def. Jasmine Jasudavicius by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
MAIN CARD:
*Adrian Yanez def. Tony Kelley by TKO at 3:49 of Round 1
*Gregory Rodrigues def. Julian Marquez by KO at 3:18 of Round 1
*Damir Ismagulov def. Guram Kutateladze by split decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-28)
*Joaquin Buckley def. Albert Duraev by TKO at 0:10 of Round 3
*Kevin Holland def. Tim Means by D’Arce choke at 1:28 of Round 2
*Josh Emmett def. Calvin Kattar by split decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48)
ROMAN DOLIDZE (9-1, 185.5) VS KYLE DAUKAUS (11-2, 1 NC, 185.5) – MIDDLEWEIGHT
An accidental clash of heads led to a pause in the action, and just a second after the fight resumed, Dolidze dropped Daukaus with a short-left hand. Daukaus was able to recover, but he ate a huge knee to the head as he picked himself up against the cage, and he went right back down to the ground, where Dolidze was able to finish the fight with ground and pound.
WINNER: Roman Dolidze by KO at 1:13 of Round 1
The clash of heads that occurred prior to the initial knockdown from Dolidze was unfortunate, however, that doesn’t take away from the impressiveness of Dolidze’s performance here. As Dolidze briefly mentioned in his post-fight interview, his previous fight (that took place roughly a year ago) was far from a memorable performance, and a quick knockout like this was exactly what Dolidze needed to remind people that he is a very dangerous fighter. His overall UFC record improved to 4-1 following this win.
PHIL HAWES (11-3, 185) VS DERON WINN (7-2, 186) – MIDDLEWEIGHT
Hawes sat Winn down with an elbow in the first thirty seconds, but Winn returned to his feet and did not appear to be rocked. Hawes knocked him down yet again moments later, and his jab was giving Winn a ton of problems. Winn was taking a significant amount of damage throughout this round, with the straight right hands and lead elbows from Hawes rocking Winn nearly every time they landed. A left hand that landed near the end of the round seemed to cause some swelling on the right eye of Winn. This was a very one-sided round.
The doctor was brought in to check on Winn between rounds, but it was determined that he could continue fighting. Winn pressured forward as he attempted to turn the fight into a brawl, and while this led to some success, he continued to eat some huge elbows and was ultimately taken down, where Hawes landed some strong ground and pound strikes. Winn made it back to his feet, however, the elbows from Hawes kept landing, and Winn was really a bloody mess as this round approached its final minute. Hawes blasted Winn with a pair of knees to the head, as well as a hard head kick. Eventually, referee Herb Dean had seen enough, and he stopped the fight after a pair of elbows from Hawes caused Winn to stumble into the cage.
WINNER: Phil Hawes by TKO at 4:25 of Round 2
Hawes argued with Daniel Cormier in the cage after the bout, accusing him of being biased in favor of Winn throughout the lead-up to the bout. Tensions did seem to smooth over before Cormier conducted the post-fight interview, and both men were professional throughout the segment, as Hawes asked the UFC to find him a fight on the upcoming card in London. As far as the fight itself is concerned; this was a very tough bout to watch. From the opening seconds of the fight, Winn was taking a concerning amount of damage, and it felt as though he was getting rocked every time Hawes landed a strong shot, which was quite often. I would not have been opposed to this fight being stopped between rounds, but we have seen that corners are very rarely willing to make that call. Despite my discomfort, this was a fantastic performance from Phil Hawes, whose UFC record now stands at 4-1.
EDDIE WINELAND (24-15-1, 135) VS CODY STAMANN (19-5-1, 135.5) – BANTAMWEIGHT
Stamann dropped Wineland in the opening seconds of the bout with a right hand, and while Wineland was able to pick himself up, Stamann just teed off on Wineland against the cage until the fight was eventually stopped.
WINNER: Cody Stamann by TKO at 0:59 of Round 1
Stamann caught Wineland with a hard shot in the opening exchange of the fight, and he didn’t give Wineland an opportunity to recover, just swarming him with strikes (rocking Wineland repeatedly) until the fight was stopped. This marked Stamann’s first stoppage victory in the UFC, and he snapped a three-fight streak of losses in the process. After the fight, Wineland took his gloves off in the cage, however, it was not made clear on the broadcast whether this was an indication of retirement or not.
MARIA OLIVEIRA (12-5, 115) VS GLORIA DE PAULA (11-4, 115) – STRAWWEIGHT
Oliveira was fighting extremely aggressively early in this fight, throwing wild strikes, while taunting De Paula in the process. Her strategy seemed to be to overwhelm De Paula with her output, and while this led to early success, De Paula eventually got comfortable and started to fire back. At one point, Oliveira caught a kick from De Paula and tripped her to the ground, but she allowed her opponent to return to her feet. De Paula connected with a pair of straight right hands before she started attacking the body with knees. 10-9 De Paula on my scorecard, but this was a very close round.
De Paula was the aggressor in round two, as Oliveira seemed to have slowed after her output in round one. Despite eating some heavy shots from De Paula, Oliveira’s chin held up well, and she was still throwing counter shots as she circled the cage. De Paula landed a number of low kicks as she attempted to slow Oliveira’s movement, before taking Oliveira down in the final seconds of the round. 20-18 De Paula.
The fighters touched gloves to begin the final round. Oliveira was the more active striker early, and while she was not landing everything she was throwing, her output was putting De Paula on defense, which was an improvement for Oliveira after getting backed up throughout the second round. De Paula eventually opted to change levels, but it was Oliveira who completed the takedown, before returning to the feet. De Paula began to march forward as she attempted to make up ground in the round, but Oliveira took her right back down. De Paula ended the round in top position, but I thought this was a clear round for Oliveira. 29-28 De Paula.
WINNER: Maria Oliveira by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
The crowd was not happy with the decision, but I thought this was a very competitive fight that really came down to the razor-close opening round. Oliveira’s activity was overwhelming, but she was missing her target on a lot of those shots, and I thought that De Paula ultimately did a bit more damage throughout the round. Still, it’s not hard for me to see why two of the judges saw the round for Oliveira, and this was an impressive performance from her considering she was a sizeable underdog going into this fight. Oliveira is now 1-1 in the UFC.
RICARDO RAMOS (15-4, 146) VS DANNY CHAVEZ (11-4-1, 145) – FEATHERWEIGHT
Just over a minute into the bout, Ramos spun for a heavy spinning elbow, and the strike found its target, knocking Chavez out cold.
WINNER: Ricardo Ramos by KO at 1:12 of Round 1
This was an incredible knockout. There have only been five spinning elbow knockouts in UFC history, and remarkably, Ramos now has two of those five finishes. Ramos was continuously for spinning attacks throughout the short duration of this bout, and eventually, he caught Chavez against the cage, where he fainted a right hand to trap Chavez, before connecting with the spectacular fight-ending elbow. Ramos’s UFC record now stands at 7-3.
COURT MCGEE (21-10, 170) VS JEREMIAH WELLS (10-2-1, 171) – WELTERWEIGHT
This was a preliminary card full of quick finishes, and we got another one here, as roughly ninety seconds into the fight, Wells caught McGee with a brutal left hook that knocked McGee unconscious.
WINNER: Jeremiah Wells by KO at 1:34 of Round 1
McGee dropped his guard after a one-two from Wells, which opened him up for the fight-ending left hook that Wells hid behind the first two shots of the combination. It was a brutal knockout, and it will undoubtedly be played on every Jeremiah Wells pre-fight video package from here on out. This was just the second time in which McGee has been finished throughout his lengthy career, with the other stoppage loss coming to Santiago Ponzinibbio in 2016. Wells is now 3-0 in the UFC, and he has finished each of those fights.
JASMINE JASUDAVICIUS (7-1, 124.75) VS NATALIA SILVA (12-5-1, 125.5) – FLYWEIGHT
Silva tagged Jasudavicius with a number of kicks to the body in the opening minute, before knocking her to the ground with a left hook. Jasudavicius recovered and pressed Silva against the cage, where she attempted to take her opponent down, to no success. Jasudavicius caught Silva with an elbow as they broke apart, but Silva responded with a strong one-two moments later. Silva looked much quicker than Jasudavicius and appeared to have a considerable advantage on the feet as a result of that. 10-9 Silva.
Jasudavicius aggressively pursued a takedown in the second round, however, Silva’s takedown defense held up well. Instead, it was Silva who eventually secured the takedown, and she was able to land a series of brutal elbows before Jasudavicius escaped to her feet. Silva continued to pick Jasudavicius apart on the feet for the remainder of the round. 20-18 Silva.
Jasudavicius was clearly down on the scorecards heading into the final round, and her corner made it clear that she was in need of a finish if she was going to win this fight. Silva’s takedown defense continued to hold up, and she had done significant damage to the lead leg of Jasudavicius with her kicks throughout the bout. Silva’s output was considerably lower in the third round, and as a result, Jasudavicius chased her down at points, in an attempt to make something happen, however, she was largely unsuccessful, and while this was the closest round of the fight, I thought Silva did enough to win this one as well. 30-27 Silva.
WINNER: Natalia Silva by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
This was a very impressive performance from Natalia Silva, who absolutely dominated Jasmine Jasudavicius throughout the first two rounds of this fight. She was definitely tired by round three and spent the vast majority of it on the retreat as a result, however, even then she showcased impressive takedown defense, while outstriking Jasudavicius with her counter shots as well. This marked Silva’s UFC debut, and with her last fight occurring in December of 2019, this was an especially impressive debut given the layoff.
ADRIAN YANEZ (15-3, 137.5) VS TONY KELLEY (8-2, 137.5) – BANTAMWEIGHT
Kelley missed weight by 1.5lbs and was fined a percentage of his purse.
Yanez began the fight with a hard right hand. Kelley was poking at Yanez with kicks, which led to a bit of hesitation on Yanez’s part early. Yanez seemed to have the power advantage though and was getting big reactions out of Kelley whenever he landed clean. A left hook from Yanez stunned Kelley, and he went on the attack in an attempt to finish the fight, landing numerous body shots in the process. Kelley weathered the storm and started pressuring forward, but he was countered by a hard hook from Yanez that rocked him, and Yanez just teed off on Kelley until he eventually dropped him. Yanez did not give Kelley an opportunity to recover, quickly knocking Kelley out on the ground as Kelley attempted to return to his feet.
WINNER: Adrian Yanez by TKO at 3:49 of Round 1
Yanez was treated like a star by this crowd, and he delivered a star-like performance in return. Yanez is now 5-0 in the UFC following this win, and he has looked absolutely fantastic in each of those fights. In my opinion, Yanez is ready for ranked competition, but there is no shortage of great fighters at bantamweight, so I would not be surprised if he has to pick up another win outside of the top fifteen before moving up the rankings. Yanez called out Sean O’Malley and Nate Maness in his post-fight interview, stating that he would love to knock them out in Texas.
JULIAN MARQUEZ (9-2, 185.5) VS GREGORY RODRIGUES (11-4, 185.5) – LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Rodrigues was tagging Marquez with short combinations early, and he eventually dropped Marquez with a hard jab. Rodrigues followed him to the ground, where he attempted to take the back of Marquez. Marquez escaped to his feet, and the fighters started trading heavy shots back on the feet. Rodrigues dropped him two more times in short order, and while Marquez was somehow able to stay in the fight, swinging back wildly at Rodrigues, eventually he had just taken too much damage, and a right hand from Rodrigues knocked him unconscious.
WINNER: Gregory Rodrigues by KO at 3:18 of Round 1
At this point in the night, we could officially classify this as an insanely violent card. This was the seventh violent knockout of the night, and this was one of the wildest fights yet. Rodriguez was rocking Marquez every time he tagged him, but Marquez had absolutely no quit in him, constantly popping back to his feet after getting knocked down, throwing back bombs at Rodriguez as he looked to even the score. Eventually, Rodriguez put him away, and you could certainly argue that this fight should have been stopped sooner, but late stoppages seemed to be somewhat of a common theme on this card. Rodrigues is now 3-1 in the UFC, with that one loss coming by split decision to Armen Petrosyan in his last bout.
DAMIR ISMAGULOV (23-1, 155) VS GURAM KUTATELADZE (12-2, 155.5) – LIGHTWEIGHT
Both fighters found success on the feet early. Kutateladze dug into the body before tagging Ismagulov with a quick hook. Kutateladze defended a takedown attempt from Ismagulov, but was repeatedly getting hit by Ismagulov’s jab. Kutateladze tagged Ismagulov with a number of elbows, and he seemed to have Ismagulov hurt at one point, but Ismagulov was able to wrap Kutateladze up, buying himself some time to recover. This was a competitive round, but I think you have to give the edge to Kutateladze based on damage.10-9 Kutateladze.
Ismagulov dodged a lighting quick question mark kick from Kutateladze. Ismagulov controlled the range of the fight with his jab, and shrugged off a pair of takedown attempts from Kutateladze. Ismagulov opened up a cut on the bridge of Kutateladze’s nose, while he continued to avoid Kutateladze’s head kick attempts. This was a fairly clear round for Ismagulov. 19-19.
Kutateladze began the final round with a pair of leg kicks, which prompted Ismagulov to respond with a lengthy combination of punches. Kutateladze successfully sprawled on a takedown attempt from Ismagulov, which was impressive considering that Kutateladze had attempted a flying knee just a second beforehand. Ismagulov was catching Kutateladze at the end of his combinations and was ultimately able to back Kutateladze into the cage. Kutateladze’s takedown defense continued to hold up, and the fighters exchanged elbows as they broke from the clinch. The strike count was near identical with a minute remaining in the round, and it felt like this was still anyone’s round as time began to run out. Late in the round, it appeared as though Kutateladze kneed Ismagulov in the chest as Ismagulov was grounded, and referee Herb Dean saw it as an illegal knee to the head. Dean did not take a point, although Kutateladze lost out on an advantageous position. The fight went the distance, and while you could really score this round, either way, I personally saw the round in favour of Ismagulov. 29-28 Ismagulov.
WINNER: Damir Ismagulov by split decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-29)
The 29-28 scorecard in favor of Kutateladze was initially read as “28-28” which resulted in a great deal of confusion regarding which round warranted a 10-8 scorecard. Thankfully the broadcast clarified that the scorecard was misread, and instead, the subject of discussion turned to the 30-27 scorecard in favor of Ismagulov, which was also a strange scorecard, with rounds one and two seemingly being rather clear in favor of Kutateladze and Ismagulov respectively. Scorecards aside, this was a very high-level, competitive fight, just as you would expect from these two fighters. Ismagulov is now 5-0 in the UFC, and he has won sixteen consecutive fights.
JOAQUIN BUCKLEY (14-4, 184) VS ALBERT DURAEV (15-3, 185.5) – MIDDLEWEIGHT
Buckley caught Duraev with a clean head kick, but Duraev was somehow able to remain on his feet, and he started to pressure forward in search of a takedown. A quick shot from Duraev cut Buckley open near his left eye, however, the blood did not appear to be compromising his vision. A straight left hand from Buckley rocked Duraev, who managed to recover quickly. The big shots that Buckley landed earned him this round on my scorecard.
Buckley landed a strong left hand as Duraev shot in, stopping Duraev in his tracks. Duraev was getting caught by big shots every time he attempted a takedown, but his chin held up, and he was eventually able to drag Buckley down with a single leg. Buckley escaped to his feet, where he proceeded to knock Duraev down with a left hand. Duraev popped back to his feet, but his left eye had swollen drastically, and he appeared to be in rough shape. Duraev secured a takedown to buy himself some time, however, he clearly lost this round, was dropped one more time before time expired, and his right eye was in absolutely terrible shape going into round three.
Just seconds into the third round, the doctor was brought into the cage, and it was determined that Duraev could not continue due to the swelling around his eye.
WINNER: Joaquin Buckley by TKO at 0:10 of Round 3
Buckley has had some spectacular knockouts in the UFC, but this may have been his best overall performance in the promotion to this point. He was consistently able to tag Duraev with heavy shots whenever Duraev shot in for a takedown, and that damage accumulated quickly, as evidenced by the swelling on Duraev’s right eye. Buckley’s UFC record now stands at 5-2, and he has won three consecutive fights. This marked Duraev’s first loss since 2014, ending a ten-fight win streak.
TIM MEANS (32-12-1, 1 NC, 170.5) VS KEVIN HOLLAND (22-7, 1 NC, 170.5) – WELTERWEIGHT
It didn’t take long for these fighters to begin exchanging heavy shots. Means opted to shoot for a single leg, but Holland was able to defend the attempt. Holland tagged Means with a heavy elbow, while Means attempted to catch Holland with heavy counters on his way in. Means was successful on his next takedown attempt, but Holland popped right back to his feet, where he began to swing wildly at Means, backing him into the cage. Means wrapped him up as he attempted to drag Holland back to the ground, however, Holland’s takedown defense held up well. Holland was catching Means with some big shots in combination, and he attacked the body with kicks as well. A straight right hand from Holland backed Means up late in the round, but Means was able to secure a second takedown to relieve the pressure.
Just over a minute into the second round, Holland landed a right hand that rocked Means, and he proceeded to lock in a D’Arce choke as Means went down, forcing Means to submit.
WINNER: Kevin Holland by D’Arce choke at 1:28 of Round 2
Holland was significantly quicker than Means on the feet, and Means was unable to keep Holland on the ground, where he theoretically could have negated that disadvantage. Holland looked very sharp throughout this fight, which is by no means unusual for him, but it is clear that he’s worked on his takedown defense, and has reeled in the mid-fight trash talk as well. Holland is now 2-0 in the UFC welterweight division, and he called out Sean Brady in his post-fight interview.
CALVIN KATTAR (23-5, 146) VS JOSH EMMETT (17-2, 145) – FEATHERWEIGHT
The fighters touched gloves to begin the main event. Both men were fairly inactive throughout the opening minutes, but it was Emmet who found his range first, landing some big shots early. Kattar seemed a bit hesitant to engage with Emmett, and as a result, he seemed to be falling slightly behind in terms of activity, although he was likely up on the actual strike count from the jabs and leg kicks that he was throwing from range. One quick strike from Kattar got through the guard of Emmett, opening up a small cut near his left eye. Kattar ate a big shot near the end of the round but was able to defend the following takedown attempt from Emmett. 10-9 Emmett.
Both Kattar and Emmett were having trouble finding their range, but Kattar’s jab was probably the most consistent weapon from either fighter. The cut near the left eye of Emmett had really opened up, and was starting to impact his vision. A right hand from Emmett found its target after a lead elbow from Kattar. The strike count between these two displayed on the broadcast was even with a minute remaining in the second round. Emmett got aggressive towards the end of the round but ate some hard shots from Kattar in return. Very close round. 19-19.
The commentary questioned the logic of Emmett’s corner telling him that he was up two rounds going into the third round, given that the first two rounds were so close. Din Thomas brought up open scoring on commentary, and Daniel Cormier immediately shut him down. Emmett landed a number of strong strikes throughout the first two minutes of round three, as Kattar continued to work his jab, worsening the condition of Emmett’s left eye. Kattar landed a heavy right hand but was quickly backed up by Emmett’s power in response. Again, the strike count in this round was near even, but Emmett just seemed to be landing with more power, and I thought he narrowly took this round. 29-28 Emmett.
Kattar’s corner urged him to “wake up” between rounds. Despite his corner’s encouragement, Kattar still seemed to be having trouble matching his typical activity, as Emmett’s power was causing problems for him. Whenever Emmett flurried forward, he was doing damage, and his body shots were taking their toll on Kattar as well. Kattar wobbled Emmett with an elbow at one point in the round, and while Emmett recovered, that elbow caused further damage to the cut near his left eye. The fighters stared each other down at the end of the round. 38-38.
Kattar’s takedown defense continued to hold up in the final round, stopping Emmett’s attempts to bring the fight to the ground. Emmett’s cut looked nasty by this point in the fight, but he fought through it and was still giving Kattar problems whenever he flurried forward. Kattar’s jab continued to be his best weapon, but the effects of it were not as dramatic as the big reactions that Emmett was getting whenever he landed a strong shot. Kattar was the more active striker throughout the round, however, and this was another very close five-minute period. I scored the fight 48-47 for Kattar.
WINNER: Josh Emmett by split decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48)
This was a very close fight, and I was not surprised to see the judges split on the result. Both fighters had a very similar output throughout the first three rounds, and while Kattar began to pull ahead in the final two rounds, Emmett’s shots still appeared to have more power behind them. Personally, I thought Kattar took three of the five rounds based on the damage from his jabs and elbows, along with his slight edge in terms of output, however, I had absolutely no issues with Emmett getting his arm raised in the end. Emmett has now won five consecutive fights and called for a title fight in his post-fight interview.
