The ABC network has been known for airing boxing going back to the 1940s. This weekend, mixed martial arts makes its debut on the channel with a fight that could be a throwback to the halcyon days of the sweet science.
Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway meets rising contender Calvin Kattar on Saturday in a pivotal bout in the 145-pound division. The winner could be next in line for a title shot.
On top of that, Holloway and Kattar are known for their boxing skills.
"It kind of brings it back to the old boxing days when that was on," Fight Ready striking coach Eddie Cha said. "I think it's going to be a great fight. There probably won't be any ground [fighting] in that one."
Holloway, the most decorated featherweight in UFC history, has dropped two straight fights to current champion Alexander Volkanovski. But their most recent clash at UFC 251 last July, was incredibly close, and many felt Holloway was the true winner. Kattar, meanwhile, is coming off a devastating knockout of Jeremy Stephens in May and a solid five-round, unanimous-decision victory over Dan Ige in July.
This fight will likely shape the rest of 2021 for the 145-pound weight class, so who is likely to win -- the record-setting Holloway trying to reclaim glory or the up-and-coming slugger Kattar? ESPN asked several of the top coaches in MMA for their breakdowns and predictions.
Editor's note: Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Brandon Gibson, JacksonWink MMA striking coach
Kattar has been looking good lately. His boxing is sharp -- and so is Max's. These guys both have very sharp hands, great feints, great footwork. This is a fight I'm really excited about.
Max has had a lot of wars lately and for a long time in that division. And I thought he beat Volkanovski in the last one. He's kind of the uncrowned king. Calvin has been looking like a beast. I think he learned some great lessons early in his career, including in his loss to Zabit Magomedsharipov. I think it is really gonna come down to who shows up with the better conditioning.
I see this one going the distance and I just see Max with his experience being able to edge out Calvin in the championship rounds. I would take Max by decision. From an experience perspective, Max has just been in so many five-round fights. Max is still young, but he has a lot of miles on him at this point. He's got great distance control, great timing and keeps opponents on the end of his punches. I think he's going to use that championship experience to win.
Eddie Cha, Fight Ready striking coach
I love Holloway. I know a lot of guys are saying Kattar can crack, he's hot right now -- all that stuff. But Max has never been dropped. Technically he lost the [Volkanovski rematch], but I thought he won that fight. He made adjustments and I thought he definitely showed the best version of himself. He learned how to avoid Volkanovski's kicks. I think he leveled up there, for sure. I don't think Holloway skips a beat against Kattar.
I've been watching a lot of Kattar lately. At first, I thought he only had a good 1-2 and he doesn't have five-round experience. But then watching him against Stephens, he motioned that jab, came with the hook-cross and knocked him out. And when he drops somebody, this kid can finish. I think his cardio is good for five rounds. He's got a chin. Just listening to some interviews, he's mentally sound. I feel like he's one of those guys that has a path and he's just doing whatever it takes to get there. His straight right hand is something special. I think he's gonna test Max's chin, for sure.
I'm going with Kattar. I loved Max all the way through until I did more homework on it. Just seeing the way Kattar sets things up, I think he's getting better. I think he's starting to catch his stride. Fighting Dan over five rounds was a tremendous amount of experience for him. Kattar kind of started too slow, but came back in the third. I thought that was a turning point for his career.
We know Max does get hit. He is hittable. I think over five rounds, Max is gonna get hit with that right hand. So, it's gonna be super interesting to see if that's gonna be a game changer for him.
Sayif Saud, Fortis MMA head coach
I'm really high on Kattar. I think he's the new breed. I think he's just got such a great style. Every time I watch him fight, he really impresses me. With that being said, he hasn't beaten anyone yet who's at the level of ex-champions and he does have a lot of decisions on his record.
But I look at the fight for Max and I think that it could be a little bit similar to his loss to Dustin Poirier, if Kattar can get going early. Obviously, Holloway has way more experience. So the real question mark is, can Kattar get a lead on Holloway early versus Holloway's experience? We know Holloway gets stronger as the fight goes on. Holloway is a great boxer, too. It's not like he doesn't have the style to match Kattar, but I really feel like Kattar is a dangerous guy here.
Kattar is really a guy to watch -- he's physical. He's really, really good in space and with distance control. He knows how to really put together his punches -- he has those power combinations. Like that uppercut he hit on Shane Burgos -- step back, boom! He's a talented kid, and Holloway, obviously, is a proven product. I really think that's a pick 'em fight. I think their styles mesh really well together.
Can Kattar build a lead and sustain it? Both have a lot of decisions on their records. One of them could put the other away, absolutely. But you've gotta look at this like a possible decision. And Max has the experience and the ability to make adjustments in the fourth and fifth and really push down on the gas late. I really, really like Kattar, but I can't disrespect Max and what he's done by picking against him.
Sean Madden, Elevation Fight Team striking coach
I love this fight. Obviously, I'm a striking coach, so I have some biases towards fights in that realm. I don't think we're gonna see a ton of grappling. What I do think we're gonna see is a very, very high-level chess match in terms of striking.
I've watched Kattar for a long time, even in his regional circuit days. He actually came out here to Colorado and trained with us, maybe in 2010 or 2011. So, I got to spend some time with him back then. I've watched him since then and I've been a fan. He has one of the best jabs in the UFC. It's like one of the most well-educated jabs and he does such a good job of just building everything else off that. One fight that I love to watch and point out to a lot of my guys is Kattar's fight against Ricardo Lamas. He built everything off of his jab and the finish came off the jab, too. He kind of got Ricardo overreacting to that a little bit and then ended up catching him off the followup.
If I was working with Max, I'd be having him kick a lot. When Calvin fought Renato Moicano and when he fought Zabit Magomedsharipov, the kicks gave him some problems. The stance-switching was a bit of an issue, too. Those would be my two recommendations for Max. If I'm working with Calvin, I'm trying to get Max to do what he loves to do and sit in the pocket a little bit. Max sometimes fights with emotion and Calvin can maybe drag him into an exchange in the pocket. If so, I could see Calvin getting the better of some of those exchanges. I think he hits harder than Max.
I would expect to see the first two rounds of this fight go a little bit slower. I think they're both gonna make the reads. And then in the later rounds we're gonna see a higher pace. I do think Max can probably outpace Calvin in those last three rounds. We tend to see Calvin have a little bit of a lower output, because he's so measured. I could see Max winning a decision here, outpointing him by giving more volume in the last three rounds.
Eric Nicksick, Xtreme Couture MMA coach
I think Kattar will look to use his "half beats" or pull counters to try and draw Max in. He'll try and cut off the cage to force Max into a phone booth. Also, from seeing Kattar first-hand, he attacks the body really well. Which I like versus a long fighter that tends to lean like Max. Find the body first, and allow that to be your path to the head strikes. Especially in a five-round war -- wear on the body.
Since Max is a gifted fighter from both stances, I can see him utilizing southpaw a lot more in this fight. That's something that we tried to do when my fighter Dan Ige fought Kattar, but we did it out of a shift step. Calvin is such a great rhythm fighter off of his lead hand that it would be important for Max to try to occupy it. That way, Max can also attack the open stance -- kick to attack Calvin's body, as well as jamming his right hand with the head kick, forcing Calvin to block. And lastly, [use] the inside low kick [to] try and take away Calvin's lead leg.
My prediction is Kattar wins by decision. I think this is a crossroads fight for both fighters, and I see Calvin being the more aggressive, forward-moving fighter. My only concern about it going to the judges is they might owe Max one after the last time.