“The Boston Finisher” isn’t done yet.
No. 10 ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight Calvin Kattar makes his first appearance of the year in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 102 this weekend (Sat., Feb. 15, 2025) as he takes on the resurgent Youssef Zalal inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Kattar is a +320 betting underdog as of this writing, which is pretty wild and a tad disrespectful when you look at what he has done inside the Octagon.
While he is on a three-fight losing streak, many people believe he did not lose via split decision to Josh Emmett at UFC Austin in 2022, and his fight with Arnold Allen lasted eight seconds because he destroyed his knee.
So, the last fight he clearly lost (and got dominated in) was his last outing against former Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 300.
And even though Zalal has looked absolutely amazing since returning to the promotion in 2024 after being released, Kattar believes he is still elite and belongs in the upper echelon of the 145 lb division.
“He’s a tough fighter. As I said, it’s tough to go 4-0 in the UFC, and he’s been able to do that,” Kattar told MMAMania.com. “But the top 15, top 10, top 5, it gets different. It’s different levels. I plan to prove not only to him and everyone else but to myself that I belong at the top of the division.”
When asked about Zalal being a -410 betting favorite, Kattar dismissed it.
“Yeah, I don’t give a shit. Cool, good for him,” Kattar said. “Plenty of underdogs have gotten their hand raised, and plenty of favorites have lost, so we will see what’s up Saturday night.”
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 102 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 7 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 102: “Cannonier vs. Robo Cop” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
