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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight veterans Aljamain Sterling and Calvin Kattar will throw down this weekend (Sat., April 13, 2024) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC 300.

Sterling exceeded expectations of many by winning Bantamweight gold and defending his throne three times before getting clipped by Sean O’Malley last year. Now, he looks to turn over a new leaf by jumping into the Featherweight mix at 34 years of age. Meanwhile, Kattar has been struggling. He’s lost two in a row via odd means: an exploded knee and controversial split-decision. The bottom line, however, is that Kattar hasn’t won a fight since January 2022 and is coming off a long injury layoff. The boxer really needs a win!

Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:

Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images

Sterling vs. Kattar Betting Odds

• Calvin Kattar victory: +135
• Calvin Kattar via TKO/KO/DQ: +500
• Calvin Kattar via submission: +3000
• Calvin Kattar via decision: +275
• Aljamain Sterling victory: -170
• Aljamain Sterling via TKO/KO/DQ: +900
• Aljamain Sterling via submission: +450
• Aljamain Sterling via decision: +120
• Draw: +5000
• Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

How Sterling Wins

Sterling is one of the sport’s very best backpacks. He’s a tremendous wrestler with funky finishes and transitions, and he’s parlayed his wrestling background into a dangerous submission game. On the feet, Sterling is a high-volume kickboxer who throws punches-in-bunches.

Sterling at Featherweight is an unknown. On one hand, he was a massive Bantamweight who definitely will not be small for his new division. At the same time, physicality is such a huge factor in dragging opponents to the floor, and Sterling’s typical range advantage was fundamental to his success on the feet.

Up a division, Sterling has to make some changes. The takedowns are going to be more difficult to come by, so he has to make better use of his speed on the feet. In-and-out movement is going to be essential in landing without getting hit, and Sterling’s takedown entries have to come off that movement rather than pure strength.

A fast start might be wise too. Why let Kattar settle back into action after so long away?

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

How Kattar Wins

Kattar is one of the division’s finest boxers. He has a really nasty jab that can dictate the course of a fight on its own, but his follow-up right hand is more than capable of putting opponents down for the count. Historically, he’s incredibly hard to take down as well.

I’d like to see a lot of pressure from Kattar here. Frankly, I think he should revive the Giga Chikadze game plan. Obviously, Chikadze and Sterling don’t fight anything like one another, but pressure and constant offense still feels like the best solution for Kattar. Why? Because getting outpointed by Sterling feels like a greater threat than being outwrestled.

Kattar is used to shucking off takedown attempts from bigger wrestlers like Zabit Magomedsharipov, Renato Moicano, and Ricardo Lamas — he can handle Sterling’s shot. The speed and volume of the former champion is a more serious worry, because Sterling knows how to puts up a ton of numbers at range.

If Kattar makes it a dogfight with his own combinations, calf kicks, and close distance elbows, however, he can try to bully the smaller man and force him into a different style of fight.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Sterling vs. Kattar Prediction

There are a lot of unknowns in this match up. How will Sterling look at 145 pounds? How is Kattar going to move after his knee injury and extended layoff? We have two unknown quantities meeting in a high-profile and important fight that will serve as a crossroads bout for each.

To me, all those unknowns somewhat cancel each other out. I’m left feeling Calvin Kattar will still perform well and that Sterling will be reasonably effective as a Featherweight. In that case, the style match up seriously favors Kattar, who is just incredibly difficult to take down.

At Bantamweight, Sterling could use his height and reach to out-volume opponents (like Pedro Munhoz) when the takedowns didn’t materialize. Unless Kattar is severely rusty and flat, he’s too sharp and powerful of a striker to let that happen, particularly since Sterling’s punches have never carried much heat.

If Kattar tries to bully Sterling, what does “Funkmaster” do to stop him? I haven’t come up with a good answer.

Prediction: Calvin Kattar via decision (+275)

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 300 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 300: “Pereira vs. Hill” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Thursday’s special show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time.

Join Ariel Helwani, The MMA Hour crew and special guests Demetrious Johnson, Eric Nicksick and Tim Simpson as they preview Saturday’s massive UFC 300 event live from Las Vegas.

For the latest episodes of The MMA Hour, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Featherweight mainstay Max Holloway will look to add another title to his collection when he battles lightweight slugger Justin Gaethje for the promotion’s officially unofficial bragging rights belt, the BMF title, this Saturday night (April 13) in Sin City.

Emanating from the familiar confines of T-Mobile Arena, UFC 300 boasts a stacked lineup featuring 13 fights and 12 current or former champions. In “the people’s main event,” Holloway will move up from 145 to 155 to try and take Gaethje’s title as the UFC’s baddest motherf*cker and potentially put himself in line for a lightweight championship opportunity.

Appearing on a recent episode of First Take with Stephen A. Smith, UFC CEO Dana White dubbed Holloway the “greatest featherweight of all time” while hyping up his clash with Gaethje.

“Max Holloway, always a big fan favorite,” White said. “Probably the greatest featherweight of all time, going up against Gaethje, who is a human highlight reel” (h/t MMA Mania).

Dana White gives a brief history of the bMF title ahead of Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje

UFC 300 will feature the third time that the BMF belt has been up for grabs since its inception in 2019. The belt was first introduced during a main event clash between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz. ‘Gamebred’ walked away with the title before embarking on a four-fight losing streak that would see him exit the promotion, having not once defended the belt.

In July, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier squared off at UFC 291 to crown a new BMF titleholder. ‘The Highlight’ scorched Poirier with a perfectly timed head-kick KO in the second round.

“The idea of the ‘BMF’ was built right here in this room,” White told Smith from his Las Vegas office. “There’s always these fights that the fans love, whether it’s a Masvidal vs. Diaz, you know, those types of fights — Gaethje and Holloway. We were sitting in here one day and thought about building this ‘BMF’ title and who’s better fit for this thing than Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway? We thought about it in here. I told the guys, ‘Tell me if I’m crazy, but what do you think of this idea?’ They loved it, the fans love it, and here we go.”

Check out the official trailer for Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 below:

LowKickMMA.com

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

When Kayla Harrison first declared plans to transition from judo to pursue a career in MMA, she couldn’t avoid constant comparisons to Ronda Rousey.

By the time the two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka announced she’d fight in 2016, Rousey was already largely gone from the sport. But Rousey’s impact was undeniable; she was a global superstar and one of the most recognizable athletes in sports, defending her UFC title six times.

Before Rousey’s UFC reign, however, she was an Olympic bronze medalist in judo. That’s why Harrison constantly heard Rousey’s name when she decided to try MMA. Now that she’s about to debut in the UFC, she’s heard all those same comparisons. But she doesn’t really take offense.

“Look, Ronda is a pioneer in this sport,” Harrison said during UFC 300 media day. “She’s the whole reason I’m sitting here today. I’m not going to take knocks at her, or be insulted by it.

“I think the hardest part is that, I’m my own person. I’m my own person. We’re just different, but I have a lot of respect for her, and I’m grateful for everything she was able to accomplish in this sport, and to help grow it for women and shatter ceilings.

“Now, my job is to stand on top of her shoulders and continue to do that.”

At her peak, Rousey not only decimated her competition – she didn’t mind creating viral moments outside the cage. Whether through interviews or post-fight speeches, she transcended into pop culture with the perfect mix of brutality and dominance in the cage. It didn’t hurt she had that same energy in front of a microphone.

Harrison appreciates that she has a similar ability, though she knows her style still ultimately differs from Rousey, no matter how many times their names end up in the same sentence.

“I’m not comparing myself to anyone or anything,” Harrison said. “I’m my own person. I have my own path. I just try to keep walking it everyday, one foot in front of the other. Of course everyone wants to be a star. The goal is not to be a star. The goal is to be UFC champion and be so f****** good, you can’t ignore me, and then to use this platform to change the world how I want to.

“There’s steps to it, and really being a star isn’t a piece of it. It’s something that I guess everyone wants to talk about, but I just want to be so good that you guys have no choice but to call me the queen.”

Funny enough, Harrison’s UFC career starts against the same opponent that ended Rousey’s undefeated run. Holly Holm famously dethroned Rousey in 2015 with one of the most vicious head-kick knockouts in the history of the sport.

Nearly nine years later, Holm still finds herself ranked among the best bantamweight fighters in the world, and Harrison was honored to get that name as her welcome to the UFC.

“I don’t say legend lightly,” Harrison said about Holm. “I think it takes a special kind of person to be a UFC champion, to be in the top 10 for so long, to stay relevant and to evolve as much as she’s evolved. She has a super-high fight IQ. She’s got excellent footwork.

“We know that she has a striking background, but she’s evolved into a very well-rounded mixed martial artist. I think she’s probably the toughest test in the division for me.”

If all goes well on Saturday, Harrison could set the tone for a very big year in her career. She made it clear that moving to the UFC from PFL is all about legacy. The first step is getting through Holm and then sending an emphatic message to the bantamweight division.

“I watch the division,” Harrison said. “I’ve been taking notice. I’ve been keeping my eye on the pulse. They need a new queen.

“Court is now in session. The queen has arrived. Saturday night’s going to be my coming out party. Everyone’s going to be put on notice.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Disney fired back at fighter turned actress Gina Carano with a motion to dismiss her wrongful termination lawsuit, which is partially being funded by billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk.

In a new motion filed in California on Tuesday, Disney asked the court to toss out Carano’s lawsuit in which she claims discrimination and wrongful termination after she was effectively fired from her role on the Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian.

Carano claims in her lawsuit that Disney fired her over voicing right-wing opinions on social media. She said the company bullied and harassed her over her views on Black Lives Matter, gender identifying pronouns, and rallying against COVID-19 mandates.

In a 24-page response, Disney laid out a pattern of behavior from Carano, particularly over social media, that led to her firing.

Disney highlighted a number of posts where Carano criticized COVID-19 mandates and vaccinations. The company also points to posts questioning the integrity of the results from the 2020 presidential election, where she claimed “without any evidence that the election was marred by ‘voter fraud,’” and that the incumbent administration needed to “[i]nvestigate every state” and “[f]lush out the fake votes.”

The breaking point for Disney with Carano came in February 2021 when she reposted a meme on Instagram that seemingly compared the atrocities carried out in the Holocaust to public persecution over political views in America.

From the motion to dismiss:

“Disney had enough. The same day Carano grotesquely trivialized the Holocaust as comparable to sharp political disagreements, Lucasfilm announced that “Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”

Disney asked for a June 12 hearing in federal court to have the lawsuit tossed out.

In closing, Disney claimed the lawsuit should be dismissed “on the grounds that Disney has a constitutional right not to associate its artistic expression with Carano’s speech, such that the First Amendment provides a complete defense to Carano’s claims.”

In her lawsuit, Carano sought a court order to force Disney to re-hire her for the role she lost in The Mandalorian, a sum of at least $ 75,000, and punitive damages.

After being effectively fired from her Star Wars role, Carano inked a deal with conservative website The Daily Wire to produce films, including her lead role in the western film Terror on the Prairie, where she starred alongside UFC veteran Cowboy Cerrone.

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