Calvin Kattar’s Fighting Style: Is the UFC Star a Black Belt in BJJ?

Calvin Kattar will welcome the former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling to the featherweight division at UFC 300. With the historic PPV event inching closer, people have started discussing how that fight would go down. While we know about ‘Funk Master’s martial arts background and fighting style, today we will focus on the featherweight veteran ahead of their clash on April 13th.

‘The Boston Finisher’ has been actively competing in MMA since 2007. Moreover, he was a standout wrestler during his younger years, and that experience certainly came into play in his MMA career, where he has over 20 professional wins. But let us rewind and take a look at what kind of fighter Calvin Kattar turned out to be.

What type of fighter is Calvin Kattar?

As we’ve already mentioned, Calvin Kattar got his combat sports start with wrestling. He was a natural at it as he discovered during his time in Methuen High School. Kattar was even placed at the eighth rank in the state and fifth in Division I MIAA state championships in the 160 pounds category. However, the 36-year-old turned out to be a much different fighter, becoming a lethal striker.

‘The Boston Finisher’ has established himself in the UFC with his boxing skills. His striking became so effective that he even became overly skilled at using his elbows. Calvin Kattar’s striking abilities have helped him earn 11 career knockouts, while he has only two submission wins to his name since he started fighting in 2007. Nevertheless, he still has a respectable set of grappling skills, especially in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Which BJJ belt does Kattar hold?

Calvin Kattar decided to move to Stockton, California when he was 19 years old to train in jiu-jitsu under master Cesar Gracie, and even slept on the floor of his house for that. He got the chance to train with the MMA icons, Nate and Nick Diaz, among many others, three times a day. All that hard work and diligence helped ‘The Boston Finisher’ earn his first colored belt, the blue belt.

The 36-year-old veteran claimed to have learned a lot while training with the Diaz Brothers.  The New England Cartel representative claimed that he has incorporated the things he learned from the duo of UFC icons in his day-to-day training schedule. “There’s a lot of things I learned from them and that camp that just set the tone for a lot of the training that I do now — big picture things and the amount they train,” Kattar told ‘Business Insider‘.

It will be interesting to see if Calvin Kattar spoils Aljamain Sterling’s outing to avoid a third consecutive loss. What are your predictions? Drop your comments below.

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