Josh Emmett has put together a strong series of wins that have made him a rising name at featherweight. However, back in the main event spotlight, he is scheduled to face a name that has stopped many hype trains before.
In the headlining bout of a UFC “Fight Night” card from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, USA, Emmett is expected to face Calvin Kattar in a five-round bout on Saturday night. Their bout can either keep Emmett’s campaign alive, or prove yet again that Kattar is a tough out when put against some of the division’s best.
A preview of that fight, plus the other 13 bouts expected to go down, can be read here.
Click here to skip to a preview of the main card.
Preliminary Card (4:00PM EDT / 3:00PM CDT) (ESPN2 / TSN 2)
Bout 1: Kyle Daukaus (11-2) vs. Roman Dolidze (9-1) (Middleweight)
The evening will kick off with a fight between middleweights Kyle Daukaus and Roman Dolidze. Both fighters are coming off a recent win that placed them back into the win column.
Daukaus appeared earlier this year, submitting Jamie Pickett in the first round of a bout via darce choke. Pickett was a short-notice fighter on that card, and the original opponent for Daukaus was Julian Marquez.
Dolidze’s last appearance was over a year ago, defeating Laureano Staropoli via decision. He was booked for three more fights later that year, although they all fell through for various reasons.
Bout 2: Phil Hawes (11-3) vs. Deron Winn (7-2) (Middleweight)
Deron Winn will return on Saturday’s prelims when he faces Phil Hawes.
Winn has been out of the cage for more than a year. His last fight was in late 2020 when he snapped a two-fight skid with a decision victory against Antonio Arroyo. His fight against Hawes was attempted twice last year before finally landing on this card.
Hawes is coming off his first UFC loss, which came via finish against promotional newcomer Chris Curtis last year. Before then, he had a trio of UFC victories.
Bout 3: Cody Stamann (19-5-1) vs. Eddie Wineland (24-15-1) (Bantamweight)
Veteran Eddie Wineland will meet Cody Stamann at bantamweight.
Wineland will be fighting to avoid slipping into a three-fight losing streak. He has suffered a first-round finish loss in both of his recent losses, including a 2020 appearance against Sean O’Malley.
Stamann has lost a trio of fights since 2020. His last fight was a 47-second loss to Said Nurmagomedov in January.
Bout 4: Gloria de Paula (6-4) vs. Maria Oliveira (12-5) (Strawweight)
Strawweights Gloria de Paula and Maria Oliveira will battle in the next prelim.
De Paula is coming off her first UFC win, which was a scorecard victory over Diana Belbita in February. Her two previous defeats took place in 2021.
Oliveira lost her UFC debut in October 2021, suffering a decision defeat against LFA alum Tabatha Ricci. The RIZIN vet had two victories on the regional scene before then.
Bout 5: Danny Chavez (11-4-1) vs. Ricardo Ramos (15-4) (Featherweight)
In a featherweight bout, Danny Chavez and Ricardo Ramos are scheduled to compete this weekend.
Chavez will be fighting for his first victory in nearly two years. His two appearances in 2021 gave unsatisfying results, coming up with a loss and a draw via decision. His last win was his UFC debut, which was over TJ Brown in 2020.
Ramos suffered a decision defeat in his last appearance, losing to Zubaira Tukhugov in October 2021.
Bout 6: Jeremiah Wells (10-2-1) vs. Court McGee (21-10) (Welterweight)
Searching for his third consecutive UFC win, former CFFC Welterweight Champion Jeremiah Wells will face an experienced name in Court McGee.
Wells won his UFC debut in June 2021, stopping Warlley Alves in the second round with strikes. He spoiled the debut of Blood Diamond earlier this year, submitting the City Kickboxing talent in the first round with a rear naked choke.
McGee, a 19-fight UFC vet, has the chance to stop Wells’ run. McGee has turned things around recently after struggling in recent years. The 37-year-old is currently on a two-fight winning streak, something he last did in 2013 prior to now. His last win came on scorecards against Ramiz Brahimaj in January.
Bout 7: Jasmine Jasudavicius (7-1) vs. Natalia Silva (12-5-1) (Flyweight)
Jasmine Jasudavicius will attempt to spoil the UFC debut of Natalia Silva in their bout this weekend.
Silva is joining the UFC roster with a record of seven wins and one loss. She has succeeded on the Brazilian regional scene and is entering this card on a six-fight winning streak, per Tapology. She will be making somewhat of a return this weekend, appearing for the first time since late 2019.
Jasudavicius will be attempting to follow up on a successful UFC debut. She made her first walk in January when she scored a unanimous decision win against Kay Hansen.
Bout 8: Adrian Yanez (15-3) vs. Tony Kelley (8-2) (Bantamweight)
The prelims will wrap up with a fight between Adrian Yanez and Tony Kelley.
Yanez has yet to lose through his explosive UFC career. He has scored four wins since 2020, with three of them coming via stoppage. He went the distance for the first time in his UFC career late last year, getting by Davey Grant with a split decision win.
Kelley has won two consecutive fights in the promotion. This includes a finish victory from December 2021, when he stopped Randy Costa with strikes.
Kelley missed weight for this fight, coming in one-and-a-half pounds over the non-championship bantamweight limit.
Main Card (7:00PM EDT / 6:00PM CDT) (ESPN / TSN 2)
Bout 9: Julian Marquez (9-2) vs. Gregory Rodrigues (11-4) (Middleweight)
Julian Marquez and Gregory Rodrigues will kick off the main card.
Marquez made his return last year, ending a two-and-a-half break from action. He came back with a boom, submitting Maki Pitolo and Sam Alvey within a three-month period.
Marquez wasn’t able to follow up on his pair of wins for more than a year after, as two canceled bouts kept him on the sidelines. He was originally meant to face Wellington Turman on this card, but was given Rodrigues after plans changed.
Rodrigues, a former LFA Middleweight Champion, took his first UFC loss earlier this year. He had a four-fight winning streak broken in a split decision result, losing to Armen Petrosyan. He’ll fight to bounce back this weekend.
Bout 10: Damir Ismagulov (23-1) vs. Guram Kutateladze (12-2) (Lightweight)
Rising lightweights Damir Ismagulov and Guram Kutateladze will face off this weekend.
Ismagulov has quietly attained a strong four-fight winning streak since joining the UFC roster in late 2018. He last added a win to this run in May 2021, defeating Rafael Alves on scorecards.
Kutateladze pulled off an upset in his 2020 UFC debut, defeating former KSW Lightweight Champion Mateusz Gamrot via split decision. That big win was his most recent fight, as a surgery since then has kept him out of competition. Now more than a year later, he has a chance to build off that big victory.
Bout 11: Joaquin Buckley (14-4) vs. Albert Duraev (15-3) (Middleweight)
Middleweights Joaquin Buckley and Albert Duraev will appear next.
Buckley has won four of his six UFC fights so far. He last appeared in February, beating dangerous striker Abdul Razak Alhassan via split decision.
Duraev, a prospect that was scouted through “Dana White’s Contender Series,” won his UFC debut in October 2021. His first fight came against Roman Kopylov, who he beat in a decision outcome.
Bout 12: Tim Means (32-12-1) vs. Kevin Holland (22-7) (Welterweight)
Sticking with the welterweight division, Kevin Holland will face veteran Tim Means on Saturday night.
Holland won his UFC welterweight debut in March, stopping Alex Oliveira with strikes at UFC 272. This put an end to a tough run for Holland, where he took two main event losses in 2021 and saw a fight against Kyle Daukaus get ruled a no contest. This took some momentum away from Holland, as he notably scored an impressive five wins in 2020.
Means is a tough test at welterweight. The 38-year-old talent has won a trio of fights recently, including a decision over Nicolas Dalby in June 2021.
Bout 13: Donald Cerrone (36-16) vs. Joe Lauzon (28-15) (Lightweight)
Two of the most experienced fighters on the active UFC roster, Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon, will fight in Saturday’s co-main event.
This fight was first scheduled to happen in May at UFC 274. However, just hours before the fight was due to happen, an illness to Cerrone forced it out of the lineup. Now just over a month later, it is expected to happen again.
Cerrone is third all-time for most fights in UFC history. He will tie Andrei Arlovski for second place this weekend, as he is scheduled to make this 38th appearance in the octagon.
Cerrone will be fighting for his first victory since 2019. He has struggled since then, suffering five losses and one no-contest since then. His last bout was a May 2021 loss to Alex Morono.
Lauzon, a fighter who has been on the UFC roster since 2007, is appearing for the first time in nearly three years. He earned a finish win the last time he fought, stopping Jonathan Pearce in just 93 seconds in October 2019.
Bout 14: Calvin Kattar (23-5) vs. Josh Emmett (17-2) (Featherweight)
A strong climb up the featherweight ranks by Josh Emmett will get a big test this weekend, as he could go up to five rounds against Calvin Kattar.
Emmett’s last appearance in the main event of a UFC card was in early 2018. In that fight, he suffered a second-round stoppage loss to veteran Jeremy Stephens. He has only improved since then, putting together four consecutive wins to work his way back to the main event spot.
Emmett beat a big name in his last fight, going three rounds against Dan Ige in December 2021 for a decision victory. Now with up to five rounds to work, Emmett has the opportunity to prevail over another big name in the division.
Kattar doesn’t have long winning streaks, but he has undoubtedly faced some of the tougher names at featherweight for years. His two losses through his past five fights are respectable names: former champion Max Holloway and Zabit Magomedsharipov, a fighter who retired before he was ever defeated in the UFC.
Kattar pulled off an upset win early this year, going five rounds to hand Giga Chikadze his first UFC loss in a unanimous decision outcome. Months after stopping the momentum of a rising featherweight, Kattar has the chance to do it all over again.
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