2022 should go down, if nothing else, as the year of random limb explosions. With Aspinall, Rakic, Dillashaw, Ortega and now Kattar all suffering losses due to injury, fans of the sport have been denied some of the greatest matchups of the year. With Arnold Allen vs Calvin Kattar however, we were able to glean some insights into how the fight was going and what both men brought to the table.
Arnold Allen Promising Work
Arnold Allen opened (and finished the fight) with step-up lead low kicks, a favourite of champion Alexander Volkanovski and a great weapon to use against Kattar whose legs have remained relatively undefended throughout his UFC career. That being said, Allen didn’t seem to make a point of kicking low against Kattar but rather used it as simply another weapon in his arsenal. There’s always a chance that this adaptation would come later in the fight once Allen became comfortable enough to commit to a game based heavily on low kicks. However, given Kattar’s well known issues checking kicks the weapon felt under-utilised by Allen in the 4 and a half minutes we got.
We also saw Allen run circles around Kattar in terms of his footwork and speed. Allen’s ability to dart between ranges and pivot off often left Kattar looking positively clumsy at times. Indeed, the one time Kattar had Allen looking flustered against the fence he jumped in for his flying knee (with disastrous consequences).
Despite backing Kattar up into a flurry, Allen showed good patience and reserve from a fighter whose previous flurry earned him a quick stoppage over Dan Hooker. Kattar clearly wasn’t going away so easily and backed Allen up again to re-engage their sniping exchanges. Allen’s best moments came towards the end of the round. By throwing and showing Kattar bunches of jabs, Allen found that he could draw Kattar’s lead hand away from his head in an attempt to hand-fight. Once Kattar’s lead hand was occupied Allen was able to crack him left straights, ending the sequence with another left hand as Kattar switched stances and squared up.
Just Getting Warmed Up
Despite failing to mount much of a consistent and significant offence, Kattar showed some neat tricks against his opponent. The most apparent of these was his pawing front kicks which appeared to land at the highest frequency. Whilst Allen did a good job at parrying, those that did make contact bothered him. Given Allen’s nature of darting in and out Kattar could, at worst, stigmatise that style of entry by keeping range with said kicks. At best, he could catch Allen as he darted in and deal real damage to the body. Against an opponent who is clearly faster and more mobile than Kattar, slowing them down with body work was a good strategy.
With Alex Volkanovski planning on a bout against Islam Makhachev for the 155 pound title, the Featherweight division remains wide open with no obvious contenders. That being said, it seems fair to expect Allen to be given another member of the Top 5 in 2023, perhaps propelling him towards a bout with Volkanovski if he remains at Featherweight.
Published on Combat Sports UK (World MMA News) on 6 November 2022
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
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