In a fair and just world, Calvin Kattar and Arnold Allen would be fighting for a title shot on Saturday.
But this is the world of MMA – especially the UFC – where words like “deserved” and “deserves” don’t carry too much weight, so whether it’s Kattar or Allen – No. 8 and No. 9 respectively in MMA Fighting Global Ranking – Whoever raised their hand in the UFC Vegas 63 Featherweight Main Event is not guaranteed anything for either fighter.
Reigning 145-pound king Alexander Volkanovski already has his sights set on a superfight with newly-crowned lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for UFC 284 in Australia next February, meaning the featherweight division will have to wait for the results of that pending result before anyone can attempt to unseat Volkanovski.
That’s a grim reality for Kattar, who has been booked against one competitor after another, and Allen, who is 9-0 in the UFC and has yet to sniff a fight from a No. 1 competitor. What this fight should be, but isn’t. And that sucks for the athletes, even if fans are still treated to a pay-per-view level five round between two of the best featherweights in the world.
In other main card action, Max Griffin takes on Tim Means in what will surely be a crowd favorite at welterweight, Jared Vanderaa welcomes heavyweight Waldo Cortes-Acosta to the UFC, Josh Fremd attempts to defeat The Ultimate Fighter 29’s middleweight finalist, Tresean Gore to keep winless in the octagon, and Dustin Jacoby and Khalil Rountree fight for a light heavyweight spot.
What: UFC Vegas 63
Where: UFC APEX in Las Vegas
When: Saturday October 29th. The six-fight preliminary map begins at 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+, followed by a five-fight main map at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
Calvin Kattar vs. Arnold Allen
One thing about Arnold Allen: The man is in no hurry.
This isn’t just a comment on the 28-year-old’s gradual rise up the featherweight charts, but his approach to fighting in general. He maintains his composure and sticks to his game plan at all times, so it falls to Calvin Kattar to bring the fight to him.
Luckily for Kattar, he has plenty of experience being on offense for 25 minutes. Keep in mind that Allen has yet to compete in a pentathlon, while Kattar’s last four fights have included championship frames. We know Kattar can keep up the pace even in a slugfest, it’s Allen’s fuel tank and determination that are being questioned.
Another reason I’m leaning towards Kattar is that he’s the more tried and true standup fighter. Allen has excellent counterplay and a strong left glove, but he’s yet to face an opponent who can force him into a dirty fight. I expect Kattar will be the one to push Allen out of his comfort zone and when that happens we’ll find out if Allen is championship material or if he just needs a little more spice.
Kattar by decision.
Choose: Kattar
Tim Means vs Max Griffin
Max Griffin’s herky jerky, in and out style spells trouble for The Dirty Bird.
Tim Means is at his best when he has a dance partner he can pin down with his pressure play, and while Griffin doesn’t shy away from a fight, he’ll be more inclined to use his movement to break Means’ rhythm. This strategy should serve him well in the early rounds as he pops means with well-timed shots.
In the final stages of the fight, I have my doubts about Griffin’s ability to survive Means. Griffin’s techniques require a lot of energy to work properly, and we’ve seen his composure diminish as a fight drags on. Means will find opportunities to cause damage, especially when he senses he’s on the cards heading into Round 3.
Still, I see Griffin building up a lead early enough that he can comfortably adjust as Means ramps up the aggression. As long as Griffin’s defenses hold up and he can consistently land counterattacks, that’s his decision.
Choose: Gripping
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs Jared Vanderaa
I’m picking a finish here, if only because I believe the schedulers put that on the main card in place of Andrei Arlovski’s 39th (!) UFC appearance, and with good reason. The reason is that they believe that Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Jared Vanderaa will set off fireworks.
There’s a lot to like about Vanderaa’s high-volume approach to heavyweight warfare, but the results at the UFC level haven’t been promising. He has just one win in six UFC games and it’s his lack of finishing touches that has held him back. That’s no problem for the debuting Cortes-Acosta. The Dominican fighter gets in there, throwing Heumacher in his first seven fights with five finishes.
I can see Vanderaa taking an early lead before Cortes-Acosta revs up and smacks him in lap 2.
Choose: Cortes-Acosta
Josh Fremd vs Tresean Gore
Look, I understand Tresean Gore’s scheme. He was a bright spot in the last lackluster issue of TUF, where he showed flashes of a fighter who could be a future knockout artist. But he just hasn’t put it together yet and that shouldn’t come as a surprise considering he only has a handful of pro fights and that counts his fights in the TUF house. In Josh Fremd, Gore has another opponent with a significant experience advantage, and I’m not sure his talent level is high enough to overcome that.
Fremd complements solid, basic kickboxing with an effective grappling game that might not be a page-jumping description, but is the kind of well-rounded skill set needed to handle a prospect like Gore. He also stands a towering 6-foot-4 and makes good use of his length when establishing his standup. A big advantage of Gore is his speed, so Fremd has to be wary of an early attack lest it become not only Gore’s first UFC win, but his first highlight reel knockout.
Gore absolutely has the potential to prove me wrong, but for me the wise choice is for Fremd to pick up a submission late in the first or early in the second.
Choose: Foreign
Dustin Jacoby vs. Khalil Rountree
Khalil Rountree looks like a legitimate contender when he’s at his best, and as our own Jed Meshew pointed out, he’s 2-0 against GLORY kickboxers (Karl Roberson and Gokhan Saki), both wins coming by KO. Not too shabby! Could Dustin Jacoby be the third?
That quirky stat aside (where’s the fun in that?), Jacoby is a better, more complete forward than Roberson and he’s not as worn out as Saki, so I like him to put a punch to his kickboxing brethren. Jacoby has made a ridiculous move, winning 6-0-1 in his second stint at the UFC to go after only top title contender Magomed Ankalaev for the longest light-heavyweight unbeaten streak. The cool thing about Rountree is that when he’s on he could land that one shot to completely take away Jacoby’s shine.
This fight was positioned as a main map opener for a reason, and I expect it will deliver from an action standpoint. If you see this ending in a finish then Rountree should be your pick but I think it goes over the distance and Jacoby’s continued offense will make all the difference in the eyes of the judges.
Choose: Jacobi
heats
Phil Hawes defeated. Roman Dolidze
Andrei Arlovski defeated. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
Jun Yong Park defeated. Joseph Holmes
Defeated Chase Hooper. Steve Garcia
Carlos Mota defeated. Cody Durden
Christian Rodriguez defeated. Joshua Weems