Calvin Kattar says Zabit Magomedsharipov signed the wrong contract for UFC Moscow

Calvin Kattar is travelling across the pond to fight on the home turf of his opponent, Zabit Magomedsharipov at UFC Moscow. The featherweights will be headlining the event this Saturday, November 9 inside the CSKA Arena in the Russian capital.

Kattar was scheduled to fight his Russian opponent last month in his hometown at UFC Boston. However, the fight was pulled from the card as Magomedsharipov suffered from a blood infection. Now, Kattar is having to acclimatize to Russian conditions and overcome adversity in the form of Magomedsharipov’s loyal fan base.

The Massachusetts native is also the bookmaker’s underdog. However, Kattar says he thrives in situations of adversity.

“I feed off this s**t,” Kattar said (via RT Sport). “I know the Russians have a big fanbase out here, fight fanbase, and I want to earn every last one of them before I go back to the U.S.”

Zabit Magomedsharipov only has one loss in his professional 18 fight MMA career. Just like fellow Dagestani fighter and lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, the featherweight has not lost a single UFC fight. His last win was a unanimous decision victory over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 235.

Kattar believes he can be the first person to overthrow Magomedsharipov’s winning streak, but he also recognizes his opponent’s credentials.

“I rank him up at the top,” said Kattar. “He’s a beast, man, I know he’s there for a reason. Props to him for taking the fight, he deserves top-5, but I give him respect for taking the fight and staying busy rather than hanging on the sidelines waiting for a top-5 opponent. But he signed the wrong contract.”

The UFC Moscow main card, topped by this Calvin Kattar vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov fight, will begin in the United States starting at 2:00 pm ET/ 11:00am PT.

Do you think Kattar can pick up a big win in enemy territory?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 11/8/2019.