Sports Interaction Staff
July 10, 2025

Kattar vs. Garcia: UFC Fight Night Nashville Odds, Prediction

That’s Calvin Kattar as he faces fellow American Steve Garcia, but it’s Garcia who is the -130 favourite on the MMA odds with Kattar at +110 for the scheduled three rounder.

UFC Fight Night: Calvin Kattar

Alexander Volkanovski is the current UFC featherweight champion, and the 37-year-old Kattar, who fights out of Massachusetts, is ranked No. 14 in the division and has a career MMA mark of 23-9. He has never fought for a belt in any organization and seems unlikely to at this point considering “the Boston Finisher” is on a career-high four-fight losing streak.

Through his first 28 professional fights, Kattar had never lost back-to-back bouts. He was last in the Octagon in February and lost via unanimous decision to Youssef Zalal. Kattar’s only win in his past six overall was against Giga Chikadze via unanimous decision in January 2022.

“I have always done my best when my back is against the wall,” said Kattar while training recently from Montreal’s famed H2O MMA gym. “And that’s where I am. … I take my beatings in the gym and cage, but it’s most frustrating to come out healthy and lose. Some of my best wins have come when I’ve been beat up a bit.

“He will try to pressure me. He’s aggressive,” continued Kattar of facing Garcia. “That’s what I respect about him. When the (bleep) hits the fan, that’s when I usually do my best.”

The 5-foot-11 Kattar has a reach of 72 inches and his bouts average 14:46. He lands 4.60 significant strikes per minute with 38 per cent accuracy and absorbs 6.62 with 53 per cent defence. His takedown average is 0.36 per 15 minutes with 29 per cent accuracy, and his takedown defence is 77 per cent.

Most of Kattar’s losses (78 per cent) are via the judges, while he has 11 wins by KO/TKO, 10 by decision and two by submission. For Saturday, his favoured method of victory is by KO/TKO/DQ at +220.

UFC Fight Night: Steve Garcia

The 33-year-old Garcia, who fights out of New Mexico, has a career mark of 17-5 and is unranked in the UFC featherweight division, but that may well change with a victory Saturday and Garcia on a five-fight winning streak, although this is a step up in competition.

“Mean Machine” hasn’t fought since taking out Kyle Nelson by first-round TKO (elbows and punches) in September 2024. Garcia was to fight in February against Edson Barboza, but Barboza withdrew due to an injury and it was scrapped. Garcia has finished each opponent during his five-fight winning streak, not even getting to the third round in any of them. In fact, he hasn’t had a fight reach Round 3 since a unanimous decision loss to Luis Pena in February 2020.

Garcia’s five-fight stoppage streak is longest among active fighters in the UFC. Former world champion boxer Danny Romero helped to mold Garcia’s punching prowess early in his career. He has 14 of his 17 wins by KO/TKO with the other three by decision.

Garcia says all the pressure is on his ranked opponent due to the losing streak: “There’s lots of pressure on him. On top of that, he’s going to go in there and he’s going to be, like, bro, I’ve got nothing to lose. “I got to go for broke. It’s like backing a dog into a corner type of thing. That’s when they are most dangerous. He hits hard. He has a lot of power. He uses his elbows pretty well. His best attribute or weapon is his jab.”

The 6-foot Garcia, a southpaw, has a reach of 70 inches and his bouts average only 5:08. He lands 5.04 significant strikes per minute with 56 per cent defence and absorbs 2.34 with 46 per cent defence. His takedown average is 1.17 per 15 minutes with 40 per cent defence, and his takedown defence is 88 per cent.

Most likely, this fight will be almost exclusively held standing up. For Saturday, Garcia’s favoured method of victory is also by KO/TKO/DQ at +220. That the bout goes the full three rounds is +152 with no at -196.