Despite having suffered two losses in quick succession, Calvin Kattar may find himself fighting for the bantamweight title soon. That is if he can defeat Aljamain Sterling on the historic UFC 300 anniversary card next month.

‘Aljo’, having lost his bantamweight title to Sean O’Malley last year, is on the path to redemption. But first, he needs to get through Calvin Kattar. While the latter’s UFC stint may have been underwhelming so far, his unique training method and arrangements give him a competitive edge.

Calvin Kattar’s gym, coach, and teammates

Calvin Kattar, unlike almost every other fighter, trains in a very intimate setting with a small team of four people he has lovingly christened ‘The New England Cartel’ on account of them being based in New England, Massachusetts and their close-knit bond.

The reason behind his peculiar and unique choice is he feels that the large gyms with many members are unable to pay the kind of attention to individual fighters he thinks necessary for them to excel and reach their full potential.

He started his team with fellow UFC bantamweight and friend Rob Font in 2019. Along with the two fighters, who serve as sparring partners for each other, the ‘New England Cartel’ consists of Tyson Chartier, who serves as head coach and Kattar’s manager, a nutritionist, and a strength and conditioning coach.

However, his journey to finding the ideal training environment was not easy and took over 15 years. The Boston-resident tried out different gyms over the period of time, but ultimately was disappointed since he felt that “All these top teams simply don’t give a s**t”. He then decided to create his own training environment.

Calvin Kattar’s training with Nick and Nate Diaz

After a promising wrestling career in high school, Calvin Kattar started his MMA in 2007, while still a teenager. While he showed promise early, what really made him commit fully to the sport was a fateful visit to MMA superstars Nick and Nate Diaz’s gym back in 2008. He was impressed with their commitment and dedication to the craft, recalling the time the younger Diaz trained with him after midnight.

“I remember we got in Nate’s gym at, like, 12:31, he was throwing on his jeans and had just finished up training. Which is late as it was, but Cesar said he had me coming in, ‘You want to give this kid some work,’ and he’s like, ‘S**t, alright.’ He just goes, takes off his jeans, throws his sh*t back on, just a G, man, wanting to work,” Kattar said.

He would go on to work with the brothers over his time in California, and look back fondly on the experience despite the gruelling work he would have to put in against the Stockton natives. While ‘The Boston Finisher’ lost his next fight at the EliteXC, he would go on to win thirteen of his next fourteen fights. This, of course, would land him a contract with the UFC in 2017. And he has a chance to fight for the title in the not too distant future and become a UFC champion if he can get through Aljamain Sterling on UFC 300, which neither of the Diaz brothers could do.

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