Calvin Kattar set to undergo ACL surgery following loss to Arnold Allen, sidelined until the end of 2023
No. 7 ranked featherweight contender Calvin Kattar revealed he will be sidelined until the end of 2023 after suffering an ALC injury at UFC Vegas 63 last month.
Calvin Kattar has had a bit of back luck inside the Octagon as of late, dropping three of his last four bouts including a big featherweight clash against fellow top-10 contender Arnold Allen on October 29th. In the opening round, Kattar appeared to injure himself following a flying knee attempt. Returning to his stool at the conclusion of the round, the ‘Boston Finisher’ was noticeably hurt but convinced his corner and the cageside physician that he could continue.
Just seconds into the second round, Kattar hit the canvas like a ton of pricks and that was all she wrote. Now a couple of weeks removed from the contest, Calvin Kattar revealed on Instagram that he will be undergoing surgery and his timeline for a return is late 2023.
“There’s not much I can say, it is what it is,” Kattar stated. “I tore my ACL, getting surgery in a couple weeks. Should be ready to go at the end of 2023. The goal remains the same.”
Is An Interim Title In Arnold Allen’s Future Following Win Over Calvin Kattar?
The win over Calvin Kattar extended Arnold Allen’s streak to 12 which dates all the way back to the summer of 2014. Sitting in the No. 4 spot in the featherweight rankings, Allen certainly has a case for a shot at the 145-pound title. However, with reigning division champion Alexander Volkanovski moving up to 155-pounds to challenge new lightweight king Islam Makhachev, a lot of fighters, including Allen, could end up waiting quite some time for their shot.
Volkanovski recently suggested an interim title could be established to keep the division moving forward during his venture into the lightweight world. With Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett rounding out featherweight’s likeliest title contenders, there will be an odd man out. Considering he has yet to lose inside the Octagon, it would be hard to imagine Allen being passed up should the UFC determine an interim title is the way to go.
Who would you like to see fight for an interim featherweight championship should the UFC deem it necessary?
