Calvin Kattar offers to step in on short notice to fight Zabit Magomedsharipov

UFC featherweight contender Calvin Kattar has offered to step in on short notice and fight Zabit Magomedsharipov later this month.

Magomedsharipov was expected to fight Yair Rodriguez in a potential No. 1 contender fight in the UFC featherweight division in the main event of a UFC Fight Night event on August 29. Unfortunately, this fight seems cursed. The UFC has tried to book it in the past but for one reason or another, it hasn’t come to fruition, and it won’t this time, either. On Tuesday, UFC president Dana White revealed that Rodriguez is injured and out of the fight.

Magomedsharipov is now without an opponent. The UFC hopes to keep him on the card, and now one of the top featherweights in the division has raised his hand in hopes of getting the fight. According to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Kattar has offered to step in on short notice and fight Magomedsharipov. The UFC has not yet decided on what they will do yet.

Yair Rodriguez is out of the the Aug. 29 main event versus Zabit Magomedsharipov due to an ankle injury, Dana White confirmed fonight.

Calvin Kattar, via his manager Tyson Chartier, has agreed to step in on short notice. No word yet on what the UFC plans on doing.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 5, 2020

Just be to clear here, Kattar offered to step in. UFC hasn’t decided yet what they’ll do with Zabit.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 5, 2020

Yair Rodriguez is out of the the Aug. 29 main event versus Zabit Magomedsharipov due to an ankle injury, Dana White confirmed fonight. Calvin Kattar, via his manager Tyson Chartier, has agreed to step in on short notice. No word yet on what the UFC plans on doing.

Just be to clear here, Kattar offered to step in. UFC hasn’t decided yet what they’ll do with Zabit.

Magomedsharipov and Kattar fought in November 2019 in a three-round main event in Russia that won “Fight of the Night.” Magomedsharipov won a unanimous decision in that contest but had the fight been scheduled for five rounds, some experts believe Kattar would have won as Magomedsharipov looked to be slowing down late in the fight.

Magomedsharipov has not fought since then, while Kattar has fought and defeated Dan Ige and Jeremy Stephens. Since Magomedsharipov beat Kattar in his last fight, taking a rematch with the same opponent seems like a step backward. But at this point, he just needs to fight. Perhaps the UFC can coax another top contender like Max Holloway into taking the fight, but if not, a rematch with Kattar may very well be the next best option.

Would you like to see Calvin Kattar get the match against Zabit Magomedsharipov?