We’re barely into 2023, but UFC featherweight Calvin Kattar has already pretty much ruled out fighting this year as he continues to heal after knee surgery.
Kattar suffered a torn ACL during a main event fight with Arnold Allen back in October, and has since undergone surgery, but though he says he’s ahead of schedule with his recovery, the 34-year-old is doing his best to accept that it could be another year before he’s actually return to return.
“I think it’s possible [that I could fight in 2023], but I don’t want to push for it,” Kattar told MMA Junkie. “I kind of just want to sit back, be patient, and I feel like it’s not so much cutting off a couple of months – (I) just want to make sure I’m 100 percent when I get in there, and then this way I can just let it all go with reckless abandonment when I step back in there.
“I don’t want to have any second guessing stepping in there – should I have gone in too soon or not. I’ll just get that much more ready for an eventual return. I’m eyeing I believe 2024, first quarter for sure, and I’ll be ready to go with whoever they put in there with me next.”
Kattar is 2-3 in his last five fights in the UFC, with the loss against Allen being his second in a row, but he’s still ranked No.7 in the division at this moment in time.
