UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs Emmett has just concluded and what an event it was! The main card featured 6 fights and 4 of them ended in a finish. Fighters like Kevin Holland and Adrian Yanez tore the house down with their performances. But all eyes were on the main event between Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett.
Although the fight was not exactly the most action-filled one ever but did feature some amazing sequences of fighting. The bout went the distance and Josh Emmett emerged victorious. He was definitely the more active fighter and he dictated the pace of the bout from the beginning.
By SD, @JoshEmmettUFC seals the deal after 5️⃣! #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/LHHJC2QjAl
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2022
But there seems to be a dispute amongst the fan base regarding the decision. While Emmett was perhaps the one to control the cage throughout the fight, he could not even sniff a takedown against Kattar throughout the course of 25 minutes. The Boston native also landed a bunch of counter jabs and elbows to prevent Josh from being able to follow up on his big shots.
Who really won the main event at UFC Austin? Let’s break down the stats to see if the judges made the right call or not.
Was Calvin Kattar robbed against Josh Emmett at UFC Austin?
As mentioned above, the bout went all 5 rounds and Josh Emmett was the winner via split decision. All three judges scored the bout 48-47, but two of them were in favour of Josh Emmett, while one went Calvin Kattar’s way.
However, none of the judges seemed to agree on the rounds that they thought each fighter won. Judge Chris Lee and Sal D’Amato scored the bout for Emmett. While Lee thought Josh won rounds 1,3 and 4, Sal gave the rounds 1,2, and 3 to Emmett. It perfectly sums up how close the bout really was and it was an extremely difficult one to score.
#UFCAustin Official Scorecard: Calvin Kattar vs Josh Emmett (@JoshEmmettUFC)
— UFC News (@UFCNews) June 19, 2022
All Tonight’s Scorecards: https://t.co/BSPcdaQrlC pic.twitter.com/3pzPT9vJ33
Let’s look at what the fighter did and who landed more strikes in each round. In round 1, Calvin landed 14 strikes out of an attempted 39. Josh landed 11 strikes out of an attempted 35. Emmett also attempted a takedown in the closing moments of the round which Kattar successfully defended. He also landed a jab that opened up a cut above Josh’s eye.
In round 2, Emmett had landed 26 significant strikes out of an attempted 73. But Calvin was the busier fighter as he attempted 5 more shots with 78. However, Calvin landed 4 fewer shots with 22. The same trend continued in round 3 as Emmett landed 27 strikes (77 attempted) as opposed to Kattar’s 19 (66 attempted).
But, In rounds 4 and 5, Calvin Kattar came into his own and started landing his usual volume punches. He landed 41 and 34 strikes in the fourth and the fifth round respectively. Emmett meanwhile lagged behind significantly with only 21 and 22 strikes in rounds 4 and 5 respectively. In all rounds combined, Calvin Kattar outlanded Josh Emmett by 130 strikes to 107 strikes.
The focus now has to be shifted towards damage. Kattar’s damage to Emmett was visible on his face. Josh had a split eyebrow and multiple lumps all over his face. But that does not mean that Josh could not inflict any damage either. Unlike Kattar, Josh did not go head hunting. He spread out his offence throughout Kattar’s body and legs. Every time, Emmett landed a body shot or leg kick, there was a visible reaction from Calvin.
Nothing but respect after 5 HARD-FOUGHT ROUNDS! 👏👏 #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/uPH38q12f8
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2022
There is no denying that Emmett had Kattar back paddling for the majority of the bout, was that enough to get the win? Calvin landed more and caused more visible damage. Hence there is an argument to be made for his cause. But ultimately both were pretty equal in the cage and both dazzled the audiences with their offensive skills. Hence, the claim of robbery may just be a bit outlandish.