Calvin
Kattar has spoken for the first time since his loss to Max
Holloway in the UFC on ABC 1 main event.
“The Boston Finisher” did not address the media after absorbing a
UFC record 445 significant strikes in a five-round unanimous
decision defeat at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi because he was taken
to a hospital immediately after the bout. Instead, Kattar released
a brief statement via social media on Monday.
“Success in life comes when you simply refuse to give up,” Kattar
wrote. “With goals so strong that obstacles, failure and loss only
act as motivation.
“Props to Max on a hell of a fight he deserves all the praise.
Thankful for my team’s commitment for this fight. On to the next.
There is no stopping the man who doesn’t quit.”
Kattar displayed tremendous toughness as he survived 25 minutes
with Holloway. On a couple occasions it appeared that referee
Herb
Dean would halt the featherweight contest, but Kattar always
managed to show just enough to allow the fight to continue. UFC
president Dana White said he thought Dean should have stepped in to
stop the bout before the final horn.
“I thought the fight should have been stopped in the fourth round,”
White said at the UFC on ABC 1 post-fight press conference. “I was
freaking out a little bit. I said [to his coaches], he’s not going
to stop and talk to anybody. We’re going to take him straight to
the ambulance and send him to the hospital.
“Then I went over to him and I said ‘you’re so tough, what an
unbelievable performance’ and he said ‘That’s not what I want to be
known for.’ He goes, ‘But I’m not going to back down to anybody’
and I said we’re going to send you straight to the hospital right
now. I don’t want you talking to anybody or doing anything. He
started laughing and thought that was funny. He’s in good spirits,
his head is clear.”
Entering UFC on ABC 1, Kattar had won four of his previous five
Octagon appearances and was coming off back-to-back triumphs over
Jeremy
Stephens and Dan Ige in
2020. The 32-year-old Massachusetts native has never lost a fight
via KO or TKO in 27 professional outings.