The UFC is working hard at filling out fight cards for the first quarter of 2025 and we learned of another fun matchup that’s on the books for February. MMA Junkie confirmed earlier today that 10th ranked featherweight contender Calvin Kattar (23-8) will try to reverse his recent fortunes and defend his spot against the surging Youssef Zalal (16-5-1).
The matchup will take place at a Fight Night on February 15th. Starting with Zalal, he earns this spot after a huge 2024. This is actually Zalal’s second run with the UFC. During his first run, he went 3-0 before running into Ilia Topuria. Following his loss to the current champion, Zalal would lose two more and then fight to a draw before being cut.
After three impressive wins on the regional scene, the UFC brought him back in early 2024. Zalal went 3-0 in 2024 and finished all three of his opponents in the first two rounds including Billy Quarantillo and Jack Shore. Now, he’ll get a huge opportunity to jump into the top ten.
UFC Fight Night
While Zalal is surging up the ranks, Calvin Kattar has fallen on really hard times over the past few years. Following a win over Dan Ige in 2020, Kattar was paired with Max Holloway in January 2021. Holloway demolished Kattar and the loss was so bad that Kattar took a year off. When Kattar returned, he looked better than ever and he demolished Giga Chikadze.
After that win, he fought Josh Emmett in a title eliminator and lost a razor close split decision. Following that loss, he faced Arnold Allen but suffered a knee injury that kept him out from October 2022 to April of this year. He returned at UFC 300 and lost a decision to Aljamain Sterling.
Bad luck and a bad injury have hit Kattar hard and now he’s just 1-4 in his last five. This is a big fight for both men as Zalal will look to show that he’s worthy of a ranking and Kattar will look to show that he still has something left in the tank.