Kattar vs Emmett Odds Preview: Title Shot Awaits Winner

A pair of featherweights headline the UFC‘s return to Austin, Texas as Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett christen the newly built Moody Center. The Kattar vs Emmett odds place the former as the decided favorite, which would be his first time as one since he defeated Dan Ige in 2020. Emmett will once again be an underdog, but he loves this role, which he has won four out of five times.

Kattar vs Emmett Fight Info

• Fight: Calvin Kattar (23-5-0) vs Josh Emmett (17-2-0)
• Location: Moody Center
• Day/Time: Saturday, 4:00 p.m. ET
• Broadcast: ESPN

Kattar Favored to Win and Book a Title Shot

After taking a record-setting beating at the hands of Max Holloway, everyone wrote off Calvin Kattar. After all, taking nearly 450 significant strikes over 25 minutes is the type of beatdown that can permanently change a fighter for the worse.

But Kattar took time off and came back to be on the winning side of a lopsided decision against Giga Chikadze. The impressive victory now has Kattar one win away from a title shot.

“Success in life comes when you simply refuse to give up,” Kattar wrote on his Instagram following his defeat to Holloway. “With goals so strong that obstacles, failure, and loss only act as motivation. Props to Max on a hell of a fight he deserves all the praise. Thankful for my team’s commitment to this fight. On to the next. There is no stopping the man who doesn’t quit.”

With Kattar’s win over Chikadze, the UFC Fight Night betting odds have overcorrected by making him a -230 favorite against a harder opponent in Josh Emmett. But Kattar has not lost as a favorite. His three losses have come against the division’s best. Holloway was the former champion, Zabit Magomedsharipov is retiring because literally no one wants to fight him, and Renato Moicano was a top-5 fighter at one point.

Kattar has everything you want in a contender. He’s got potent boxing, a granite chin (as he proved against Holloway), and prolific wrestling as he showed against Chikadze. The Kattar vs Emmett odds may be wide, but Kattar is a popular bet on UFC lines for a reason.

Emmett Has Overcome Odds even Outside Betting

Many wrote off Kattar in his fight against Chikadze and that proved to be a big mistake. Josh Emmett knows what it’s like to overcome the betting odds, and real-life tribulations. The Team Alpha Male product is 37 years old and has gone through multiple injuries, including one coming from a vicious knockout.

Jeremy Stephens broke Emmett’s orbital bone after knocking him out cold on the main event in 2018. This loss all but sapped Emmett’s momentum following his first UFC knockout victory. So the oddsmakers underestimated Emmett in his next bout against Michael Johnson thanks to his loss and his one-year layoff. He was a slight underdog and won by KO.

It would be the same against Mirsad Bektic but as a bigger underdog in his time. And again, before Emmett could build more momentum, injuries pulled him out of a fight. When he did return to action and defeated Shane Burgos, (again as an underdog), he tore his knee and had to be sidelined for over a year.

“It was a good fight,” Emmett told MMA Junkie after the fight. “I was so pissed about more the knee just because I keep having these long layoffs. I was out 13 months, I came back, and I won two fights. I had the momentum going and then I was out another almost 11 months. I won the other night and then it turns out I could be out another nine months. I’m like – man, it’s frustrating.”

But it’s hard to keep a good man like Emmett down. That’s why he finds himself on a four-fight winning streak despite the Kattar vs Emmett odds underselling him.

Kattar not only recognizes Emmett but also how dangerous he is given what he’s been through.

“For me, everyone’s probably overlooking him,” Kattar said. “They say I’m the favorite but I keep that underdog mentality and I know it’s a dangerous one to have, I’m sure Josh has it now. And I’m not looking to let him build any momentum off it.”