Earning wins in the UFC is certainly no easy task, but what comes next is often even more important: the post-fight callout.
So after Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 13 event in Abu Dhabi, who took advantage of their time on the mic? See below for this week’s Callout Collection – and just how realistic each one is.
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First up, let’s take a look at the preliminary card …
Khamzat Chimaev
Wants to fight:Donald Cerrone
The callout: “I never felt in trouble, I do this with all my opponents, I smash them all, first round, second round. I have seven wins, seven finishes. I could fight next week if they have. I told them, give me Donald Cerrone. If they give me (him) it’d be an amazing fight for me. I’m gonna smash him and everybody going to talk about it.”
The reality: Khamzat Chamaev made quite the impression on his UFC debut as he totally dominated John Phillips en route to a second-round submission victory. He showed his confidence and ambition in his post-fight interviews, too, as he called for a shot at one of the UFC’s biggest fan-favorite fighters.
Following his middleweight win on “UFC Fight Island,” a matchup against Cerrone would represent the chance for Chimaev to prove his credentials and make an instant impact in his optimal weight class of welterweight, but it seems unlikely that the UFC would throw him in with one of the sport’s biggest names in just his second fight for the promotion.
It seems more likely that the UFC will build Chimaev gradually, most likely against international opposition, for his next couple of fights. A matchup with someone like Gunnar Nelson would offer a fascinating test of his credentials. If he handles “Gunni” as well as he did Phillips, the wait for bigger-name tests likely won’t be long.
Next up: “The Sniper” picks his next target
Mounir Lazzez
Wants to fight:Mike Perry
The callout: ““I’m healthy – 100 percent. I swear to God, I’m ready to go in two weeks. But I’ll let my management speak to the UFC, and when that idiot (Mike Perry) is ready, I’m ready to go.”
The reality: In purely aesthetic terms, a matchup between Mounir Lazzez and Mike Perry is matchmaking dynamite: The slick, technical striker versus the heavy-handed brawler who never takes a step back.
However, despite the stylistic appeal of a Lazzez vs. Perry matchup, the reality at the time of writing is that Perry’s involvement in active UFC duty is very much on hold following his recent incident at a Florida restaurant. It means Perry will be out of action while he seeks help for “professional treatment, including substance and behavioral counseling,” per a UFC statement, and therefore won’t be available to take on “The Sniper” next.
Personally, I think a bout against Niko Price would make for an excellent next assignment. But with Lazzez’s fan-friendly fighting style, expect an exciting matchup whoever he’s paired with next.
Next up: Bantamweight contender eyes future shot at the champ
Jimmie Rivera
Wants to fight:Petr Yan
The callout: “Of course he’s beatable. I beat him for almost 14 minutes in the fight we had. He won (the fight) because he hit me with two shots. A shot in the first and a shot in the second where I dropped and got back up. It wasn’t like a finish shot, but it was a shot I didn’t see and it’s the shots that you don’t see are the worst shots that you take. Nothing against Petr Yan, he’s a tough S.O.B., but I would love to get that fight back.”
The reality: Jimmie Rivera knows he won’t be getting a title shot next, but that didn’t stop him stating his intention to get into a position to face Petr Yan for a second time.
Rivera says he gave Yan his hardest test in the octagon to date, and he might just be right. The key moments in their fight went Yan’s way, but overall the action was very competitive through the three rounds.
He’s going to have to win at least a couple of fights against the division’s top contenders to push himself to the front of the queue, and a matchup against someone like Cory Sandhagen may offer a viable opportunity for him to propel himself into the Top 5. If he wins that fight impressively enough, he could potentially find himself one big win away from a second meeting with Yan.
He’s got some legwork to do first, but Rivera’s first meeting with “No Mercy” will give him confidence that, with the appropriate tweaks to his game, he could give the current champion all he can handle in a rematch.
Next up: Featherweight contender stakes his claim
Calvin Kattar
Wants to fight:Alexander Volkanovski
The callout: “If I make my case, I don’t (have) to do it with my mouth. I do it in the cage. All these other guys, they all talk. Where I’m from, we don’t really talk about stuff too much. We go out and prove. We earn it. Here, (shot-calling) is not really the business model, so it’s a little bit of an adjustment for me. I go out. I fight and I try to earn every opportunity in front of me. The champ should see that. He’s saying he wants contenders and you’re not going to find one more ready than myself.”
The reality: Strip away all of the hoopla and hype, and MMA is just about as straightforward a sport as you could find. Two athletes step into a cage and throw down to decide who the better fighter is. It’s a no-frills sport, and Calvin Kattar is a no-frills contender.
As he articulated superbly after his win over Dan Ige in Abu Dhabi, Kattar explained that he’s not the calling out type, but we’ve reached the point where, callouts or not, “The Boston Finisher’s” performances are impossible to ignore.
He demolished Jeremy Stephens, then halted Ige’s remarkable run of form. Now Kattar surely stands on the precipice of a title opportunity. Such is the quality of competition at the sharp end of the 145-pound division, the UFC matchmakers will likely ask him to pick up one more win before he gets his shot. But there can be no denying his championship credentials. Whether it’s a title shot or a title eliminator, expect Kattar’s next assignment to be the biggest of his career.
