Brad Katona

Brad Katona
Born	Bradley Devin Katona (1991-12-19) December 19, 1991 (age 32) Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Other names	Superman
Residence	Dublin, Ireland
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight	135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb)
Division	Bantamweight (2010–present) Featherweight (2018) Lightweight (2015)
Reach	64.5 [1]  in (164 cm)
Fighting out of	Dublin, Ireland [2]
Team	Straight Blast Gym Ireland, Winnipeg Academy of Mixed Martial Arts [2]
Rank	Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu [3] Black belt in Shotokan Karate [4]
Years active	2010–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	18
Wins	14
By knockout	1
By submission	3
By decision	10
Losses	4
By decision	4
Amateur record
Total	3
Wins	3
By submission	3
Losses	0
Other information
University	University of Manitoba (BSc) [4]
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Bradley Devin Katona ^[5] (born December 12, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former Brave CF Bantamweight Champion. He is also the only fighter to win The Ultimate Fighter twice, winning The Ultimate Fighter 27 featherweight tournament and The Ultimate Fighter 31 bantamweight tournament. ^{[6] [7]}

Personal life and background

Katona was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He started training in karate at the age of five and earned his black belt at the age of 14. Katona graduated from Dakota Collegiate, where he competed in wrestling. ^[8]

He started Brazilian jiu-jitsu at Winnipeg Academy of Mixed Martial Arts. ^[4] In 2011, Katona fought and won in the Canadian Golden Gloves championship and the Ringside World Championships in Kansas City, Missouri. ^[9]

He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Manitoba. ^[4]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Katona began competing in mixed martial arts in 2010 earning an amateur record of 3–0. ^[10] After turning professional, he competed in smaller promotions, earning himself an unbeaten record of 6–0. Katona earned a degree as a mechanical engineer before deciding to focus fully on his MMA career in 2016. In 2017, he moved to Dublin to train with Straight Blast Gym Ireland under coach John Kavanagh. ^[2]

The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated

In November 2017, it was announced that Katona would be a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated competing in the featherweight tournament. ^[11] On the show, Katona first defeated Kyler Phillips via majority decision ^[12] and in the semi-finals he defeated Bryce Mitchell via third round submission (rear-naked choke). ^[13] Katona then went on to win the final against Jay Cucciniello via a unanimous decision at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale. ^[14] In doing so he became the third Canadian in the show's history to win the tournament and is also the first Canadian to win the competition outside of the TUF: Nations tournament format. ^[15]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Returning to bantamweight, Katona faced Matthew Lopez in a bout on December 8, 2018, at UFC 231. ^[16] He won the fight by unanimous decision. ^[17]

Katona next faced Merab Dvalishvili on May 4, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 9 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. ^[18] Katona would lose the fight via unanimous decision. ^[19]

Katona faced Hunter Azure on September 14, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje. ^[20] Despite moments of success Katona would lose the fight via unanimous decision. ^[21]

Katona was released by the UFC on February 11, 2020. After going 2–2 in the promotion. ^[22]

Brave Combat Federation

In September 2020, it was reported that Katona signed with Elite MMA Championship (EMC) and he was scheduled to meet Stipe Brčić on October 31, 2020, in the co-main event of EMC 6. ^[23] However, the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^{[24] [25]}

Katona faced Borislav Nikolić on April 1, 2021, at Brave CF 50. ^[26] At weigh-ins, Katona came in 1.1 pounds (0.5 kg) over the bantamweight limit and was fined a percentage of his purse which went to his opponent. ^[27] He won by guillotine in the third round. ^[28]

Katona faced Bair Shtepin on August 21, 2021, at Brave CF 53. ^[29] He won the bout via unanimous decision. ^[30]

Katona defeated Hamza Kooheji on March 11, 2022, at Brave CF 57 for the vacant BRAVE CF Bantamweight Championship. ^[31]

The Ultimate Fighter 31

In March 2023, it was announced that Katona would make his second appearance on The Ultimate Fighter, fighting in the bantamweight division. ^[32]

He was selected as a part of Team Chandler. In the quarterfinal Katona faced Carlos Vera, and won the fight via unanimous decision. ^[33] He switched to Team McGregor in the semi-finals.

In the semi-final round, Katona faced former teammate Timur Valiev, and won the fight via split decision. ^[34]

Katona faced former teammate Cody Gibson in the tournament final on August 19, 2023, at UFC 292. ^[35] He won the fight via unanimous decision to win the tournament and become the only TUF fighter to win twice. ^[36] The bout also won the Fight of the Night award. ^[37]

Return to UFC

Katona faced Garrett Armfield on January 20, 2024, at UFC 297. ^[38] He lost the bout by unanimous decision. ^[39]

Katona faced Jesse Butler on June 8, 2024 at UFC on ESPN 57. ^[40] He won the fight by unanimous decision. ^[41]

Katona faced Jean Matsumoto on October 19, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 245. ^[42] He lost the fight by unanimous decision. ^[43]

Championships and accomplishments

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • The Ultimate Fighter 27 Featherweight Tournament Winner ^[6]
  • The Ultimate Fighter 31 Bantamweight Tournament Winner
    • First and only 2-time winner of The Ultimate Fighter
  • Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Cody Gibson ^[37]
• Brave Combat Federation
  • BRAVE CF Bantamweight Championship (One time)
    • One successful title defense

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

18 matches	14 wins	4 losses
By knockout	1	0
By submission	3	0
By decision	10	4

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	14–4	Jean Matsumoto	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs. Pereira	October 19, 2024	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	14–3	Jesse Butler	Decision (unanimous)	UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Imavov	June 8, 2024	3	5:00	Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Loss	13–3	Garrett Armfield	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 297	January 20, 2024	3	5:00	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Win	13–2	Cody Gibson	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 292	August 19, 2023	3	5:00	Boston, Massachusetts, United States	Won The Ultimate Fighter 31 Bantamweight tournament. Fight of the Night.
Win	12–2	Gamzat Magomedov	Decision (unanimous)	Brave CF 63	October 19, 2022	5	5:00	Isa Town, Bahrain	Defended the BRAVE CF Bantamweight Championship.
Win	11–2	Hamza Kooheji	Decision (split)	Brave CF 57	March 11, 2022	5	5:00	Isa Town, Bahrain	Won the vacant BRAVE CF Bantamweight Championship.
Win	10–2	Bair Shtepin	Decision (unanimous)	Brave CF 53	August 21, 2021	3	5:00	Almaty, Kazakhstan
Win	9–2	Borislav Nikolić	Submission (guillotine choke)	Brave CF 50	April 1, 2021	3	0:40	Arad, Bahrain
Loss	8–2	Hunter Azure	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje	September 14, 2019	3	5:00	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Loss	8–1	Merab Dvalishvili	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy	May 4, 2019	3	5:00	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Win	8–0	Matthew Lopez	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 231	December 8, 2018	3	5:00	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Return to Bantamweight.
Win	7–0	Jay Cucciniello	Decision (unanimous)	The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated Finale	July 6, 2018	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Won The Ultimate Fighter 27 Featherweight tournament.
Win	6–0	Stephen Cervantes	Decision (unanimous)	Mercenary Combat League 1	August 16, 2017	3	5:00	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Win	5–0	Austin Ryan	Submission (kneebar)	XFFC 13: Future Stars	February 2017	3	4:49	Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada	Return to Bantamweight.
Win	4–0	Patrick Ward	Decision (unanimous)	Havoc FC 11	December 2, 2016	3	5:00	Red Deer, Alberta, Canada	Featherweight debut.
Win	3–0	Josh Rich	Decision (unanimous)	Prestige FC 2	March 12, 2016	3	5:00	Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada	Return to Bantamweight.
Win	2–0	Myles Anderson	Submission (guillotine choke)	Prestige FC 1	September 24, 2015	1	3:12	Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada	Lightweight debut.
Win	1–0	Michael Hay	KO (punch)	MFC 41: All In	September 3, 2014	1	2:47	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	Bantamweight debut.

^[44]

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

Exhibition record breakdown
4 matches	4 wins	0 losses
By submission	1	0
By decision	3	0

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	4–0	Timur Valiev	Decision (split)	The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler	Aug 1, 2023 (airdate)	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	The Ultimate Fighter 31 Semi-final round.
Win	3–0	Carlos Vera	Decision (unanimous)		Jun 27, 2023 (airdate)	2	5:00		The Ultimate Fighter 31 Quarterfinal round.
Win	2–0	Bryce Mitchell	Submission (rear-naked choke)	The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated	Jun 20, 2018 (airdate)	3	4:17		The Ultimate Fighter 27 Semi-final round.
Win	1–0	Kyler Phillips	Decision (majority)		Apr 25, 2018 (airdate)	2	5:00		The Ultimate Fighter 27 Quarterfinal round.

See also

• List of Canadian UFC fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists
• List of current UFC fighters

References

1. "Brad Katona | UFC". www.ufc.com. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
2. Neil Davidson (2017-01-22). "From Engineer to UFC fighter". globalnews.ca. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
3. "Brad Katona". UFC. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
4. "From mechanical engineer to UFC fighter, Winnipeg's Brad Katona is living the dream | The Star". thestar.com. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
5. "Brad Katona ("Superman") | MMA Fighter Page". Tapology. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
6. "Brad Katona wins TUF season 27 Finale". mmafighting. 7 July 2018. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
7. Matt Erickson (2023-08-19). "UFC 292 results: Brad Katona outworks Cody Gibson in classic, makes history as two-time 'TUF' winner". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
8. "The Ultimate Fighter champ Brad Katona of Winnipeg reaching for the stars". Global News. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
9. "Meet The Fighter - Brad Katona". Hard Knocks Fighting Championship. 2016-07-31. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
10. Sherdog.com. "Brad Katona fighter bio". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
11. Stumberg, Patrick L. (2018-04-18). "TUF 27 Results, Recap For "Undefeated" (Ep. 1)". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
12. "411MANIA". 411’s Ultimate Fighter 27: Undefeated Report 4.25.18. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
13. "Episode No. 10 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter 27: Undefeated'". MMA Junkie. 2018-06-21. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
14. mmajunkie.usatoday.com (7 July 2018). "Brad katona wins TUF season 27 in dominate fashion". mmajunkie.usatoday. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
15. winnipegsun.com/sports. "Winnipeg's Katona crowned The Ultimate Fighter". winnipegsun. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
16. Canadian Press (2018-09-28). "Winnipeg's Brad Katona to fight in bantamweight bout at UFC 231 in Toronto". canoe.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
17. "UFC 231: Brad Katona remains unbeaten with close win over Matthew Lopez". FanSided. 2018-12-08. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
18. "Winnipeg bantamweight Brad Katona added to UFC Vancouver card - Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
19. "UFC on ESPN+ 9 results: Merab Dvalishvili hands Brad Katona first loss with shutout". MMA Junkie. 2019-05-05. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
20. Sherdog.com. "Brad Katona to Fight Hunter Azure at UFC Vancouver". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
21. "Hunter Azure def. Brad Katona at UFC on ESPN+ 16: Best photos". MMA Junkie. 2019-09-14. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
22. Martin, Adam (2020-02-11). "Report | 13 fighters cut from UFC including Ben Saunders | BJPenn.com". | BJPenn.com. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
23. "'The Ultimate Fighter' winner Brad Katona signs with EMC, set for bantamweight title tilt". MMA Junkie. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
24. EMC Promotion [@EMC_Promotion] (October 26, 2020). "Ismail Naurdiev suffered an injury in training and his fight with Amiran Gogoladze will be rescheduled for a future EMC event" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
25. EMC Promotion [@EMC_Promotion] (October 30, 2020). "Despite our best efforts, we have been forced to postpone #EMC6 this weekend due to the increasing numbers of COVID-19 infections & new gov restrictions throughout Germany" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
26. "Brad Katona has "Made a career of beating undefeated guys," like Brave CF 50's Borislav Nikolic". MyMMANews.com. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
27. Murray, Julian (31 March 2021). "Brawl Nearly Breaks Out At BRAVE CF 50 Face-Off – Overtime Heroics". Overtimeheroics. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
28. Leonte, Tudor. "Jarrah Hussein Al-Silawi Chops Down Ismail Naurdiev, Defends Belt at Brave CF 50". Sherdog. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
29. "BRAVE CF confirms several top fighters for Kazakhstan return, including Brad Katona, Marcel Grabinski, FightBook MMA". foxsportstv.com. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
30. "Brave CF 53 Results: Kim Outworks Akishev, Takhtay Chokes Sampaio". Combat Press. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
31. "'TUF 27' winner Brad Katona challenges for Brave CF title in March". MMA Junkie. 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
32. Heck, Mike (2023-03-05). "Full TUF 31 cast revealed, featuring Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler as coaches". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
33. "'The Ultimate Fighter 31: McGregor vs. Chandler' Episode 5 recap: A 'diva' and 'unfinished fights' spark frustration". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. 28 June 2023.
34. "'The Ultimate Fighter 31: McGregor vs. Chandler,' Episode 10 recap: Blood pours everywhere at the UFC Apex". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. 2 August 2023.
35. "TUF 31 Episode 12 takeaways: Cody Gibson wins; TUF finale will be an all-veteran affair". espn.com. 16 August 2023.
36. Theodosi, Jamie (2023-08-19). "UFC 292: Brad Katona Makes History, Defeats Cody Gibson to Become Two-Time TUF Champion". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
37. Dan Hiergesell (2023-08-19). "UFC 292 bonuses: Sean O'Malley banks $50K with stunning main event TKO". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
38. Desk, ITN News (2023-10-06). "Brad Katona vs Garrett Armfield Reported for UFC 297 in Toronto". www.itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2023-10-07.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
39. Dewar, Val (2024-01-21). "Garrett Armfield Upsets Brad Katona in Close, But Unanimous, Decision". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
40. "Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (March 25–31)". MMA Junkie. 2024-04-01. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
41. Hester, Bryson (2024-06-08). "UFC Louisville: Brad Katona Looks Complete Against Jesse Butler". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
42. Sportsnet Staff (2024-08-27). "Canada's Brad Katona to fight Jean Matsumoto at UFC Vegas 99". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
43. Jay Anderson (2024-10-19). "UFC Vegas 99: Jean Matsumoto Overcomes Game Brad Katona". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
44. Sherdog.com. "Brad". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-10-11.

External links

• Brad Katona at UFC
• Professional MMA record for Brad Katona from Sherdog