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It is difficult not to draw comparisons from the cult Sylvester Stallone movie Rocky IV as 'The Boston Finisher' Calvin Kattar heads to Moscow ahead of his main-event clash against Russia's own Zabit Magomedsharipov at UFC on ESPN+ 21 in Moscow on Saturday.
The pair was initially set to square off last month in Kattar's hometown Boston. However, a sudden turn of events now sees him having to travel to enemy territory in order to face the tremendously skilled Dagestani fighter, Magomedsharipov in his hometown, Moscow.
While Kattar is being regarded as an underdog heading into this bout, the man from Boston is clearly relishing the underdog status. Kattar turned up at the open work-outs in a playful mood, appearing to take a sly dig at the Russian fans by pretending to kick a backdrop display that had Magomedsharipov's face on it. (h/t MMA Junkie)
Kattar reveling in the negative attention
Speaking to the media during the open workouts, Kattar stated that he is enjoying playing the bad guy and the fact that the crowd is cheering for his opponent. He claims that he is looking forward to winning them over and earning their respect by the time he is done with Magomedsharipov.
“I feed off this (expletive). I know the Russians have a big fight fan-base out here and I want to earn every last one of them before I go back to the U.S.”
Magomedsharipov made a mistake by taking the fight, says Kattar
Kattar praised Magomedsharipov for accepting the fight against him and also acknowledged the Dagestani as a top featherweight, but he claimed that Magomedsharipov made a mistake by opting to go up against him.
“I rank him up at the top. He’s a beast, man, I know he’s there for a reason. Props to him for taking the fight, he deserves top-5, but I give him respect for taking the fight and staying busy rather than hanging on the sidelines waiting for a top-5 opponent. But he signed the wrong contract."
