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MONCTON, Canada – For the first time in eight years, Calvin Kattar managed to end a fight in the first round. That was a welcome change for “The Boston Finisher,” who noted after his TKO victory over Chris Fishgold at UFC Fight Night 138 that he wasn’t getting paid by the minute.

But the question on his mind is what comes now, especially since that fight represented the last on his four-fight contract with the UFC. Not only did he not sign a renewal before this bout, Kattar said, he didn’t even discuss it with UFC officials.

“And I’m fine with that,” Kattar told reporters, including MMAjunkie, after the fight in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. “I’ve dealt with way worse adversity. To have a four-fight contract, to have the option to fight for the best organization in the world, it’s a great opportunity. So to even have that opportunity, to be on the fourth fight of my contract, I was happy about, but I was definitely excited to get the finish and show my worth and hope they want to keep me sticking around.”

As for what he’ll do if the UFC doesn’t give him an offer he likes, Kattar said he’ll “cross that bridge when I get there.” In the meantime, he’s happy savoring the win – along with the newfound internet fame he achieved after his brief friendship with a wild bird went viral.

The bird, Kattar said, left him the very next morning after spending the better part of a day with him, much to his joyous surprise. Even that was a longer relationship than he was expecting when a bird started hanging around his table at Panera Bread.

It got weirder when he went to leave, only to have the bird follow him.

“I go to my car, and I’m like, I’ve got to go train. I can’t kick it with a bird all day at Panera,’” Kattar said. “So I get to my car, and it flies on the hood of my car. So I’m like, ‘I’m going to put my arm out. If it flies on my arm, I’m taking it with me. If not, I’ve got to get the hell out of here.’ It flew on my arm; I took it to training.”

Kattar even went so far as to buy a cage to keep the bird in, he said, but he didn’t want to imprison a wild thing against its will. So he left the bird in the cage outside his home that night, but also left the door open so it could fly off if it wanted to.

The next morning, Kattar said, the bird left him.

“Crazy story, I think I saw it two weeks later,” Kattar said. “I was like, ‘You are not pulling over right now.’ I just kept driving. Can’t mess with nature too much.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 138, check out the UFC Events section of the site.