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#4. UFC featherweight Calvin Kattar
Calvin Kattar took on Max Holloway in the first UFC event of 2021. Holloway put on a masterful display of striking against Kattar, cruising to a comfortable unanimous decision victory. The judges scored the lopsided contest 50-43, 50-43 and 50-42 in favor of ‘Blessed’.
The Hawaiian broke multiple striking records in the bout. He landed 447 strikes out of 746 attempts on Kattar for a 60% accuracy rate. The volume striking proved to be too much for Kattar, who could hardly mount any offense in the fight.
Holloway even started showboating in the final few rounds, landing no-look punches and shouting at the cageside commentary team.
Many believed that Calvin Kattar would never be the same again. One-sided beatdowns like the one he endured against Holloway tend to leave a lasting impression on a fighter. The likes of Cody Garbrandt, Donald Cerrone, Tony Ferguson and Dominick Reyes have struggled to return to winning ways after taking a lot of damage in previous bouts.
Kattar smartly opted to take a year-long layoff following the bout. He returned to the octagon in January 2022 to take on rising featherweight Giga Chikadze at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Chikadze was riding a seven-fight win streak and was fresh off a sensational TKO victory over Edson Barboza.
The general consensus was that this was an extremely unfavorable matchup for Kattar.
As such, he was listed on multiple betting sites as the underdog. Nevertheless, he silenced his doubters with a spectacular domination of Chikadze. The 33-year-old somewhat surprisingly outstruck his Georgian counterpart, who's an experienced kickboxer and excellent striker.
The judges scored the contest 50-44, 50-45 and 50-45 in favor of the Bostonian, who earned an impressive victory in what was arguably his strongest performance yet.
#3. UFC women's bantamweight champion Julianna Pena
Julianna Pena was just another fighter in the women’s bantamweight division before UFC 269. She won The Ultimate Fighter in 2013 and compiled a 6-2 run before finally getting a crack at UFC bantamweight gold.
Her only UFC losses came against current flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko and former featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie.
Pena took on the GOAT of women’s MMA, Amanda Nunes, at UFC 269. Most were of the opinion that Nunes would make light work of Pena and the betting odds reflected the same. Nunes was a -1100 favorite going into the bout.
Julianna Pena took the fight to ‘The Lioness’ unlike anyone had done previously, repeatedly catching the long-reigning champion with her jab. In the second round, Nunes looked noticeably fatigued. Sensing her opportunity, Pena dragged the Brazilian to the ground and locked in a rear-naked choke to complete one of the biggest upsets in combat sports history.
Pena's win over Nunes left MMA fans around the world in shock. What made the victory even sweeter was the fact that she had predicted how the bout would play out and executed her game plan perfectly. Speaking to Joe Rogan in her post-fight interview, 'The Venezuelan Vixen' said:
"I told you! Don't ever doubt me again! Willpower, strength and determination! It will take you places."
Watch Julianna Pena’s post-fight interview with Joe Rogan below:
