Jeremy Stephens vs. Calvin Kattar moved to UFC 249

An exciting featherweight bout between Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar has been moved to the upcoming UFC 249 card in Brooklyn.

Stephens vs. Kattar was originally slated for UFC 248 in March, the pay-per-view headlined by UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero, but it has now been moved to UFC 249, the April pay-per-view headlined by UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson. Along with the women’s strawweight rematch between former champs Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade, the UFC 249 card is starting to look really strong.

The UFC officially announced the new date on its Twitter.

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1224800293273001984

Stephens vs. Kattar should be a fantastic fight between two of the top-10 ranked featherweights on the UFC roster. Stephens is currently ranked No. 8 overall in the UFC’s official rankings while Kattar is ranked No. 10. In a deep division that has plenty of contenders for UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski’s belt, this fight between Stephens and Kattar is pivotal for both men to remain as contenders at 145lbs.

Stephens (28-17, 1 NC) is winless over his last four fights. He is coming off of a decision win to Yair Rodriguez at UFC Boston, having previously fought to a No Contest at UFC Mexico City. Prior to the Rodriguez bouts, Stephens lost to Zabit Magomedsharipov and Jose Aldo. Of course, those losses came against only truly elite competition. His last victory came back in February 2018 when he knocked out Josh Emmett.

Kattar (20-4) is coming off of a decision loss to Magomedsharipov which snapped a two-fight win streak over Ricardo Lamas and Chris Fishgold. Prior to that, Kattar lost a decision to Renato Moicano which snapped a 10-fight win streak that included notable victories over Shane Burgos and Andrei Fili. A win over Stephens and Kattar will be right back in the same spot he was in before losing to Magomedsharipov.

Who do you think wins the featherweight fight between Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar at UFC 249?