Brad Devin Katona (born December 12, 1991) is a Canadian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

and the reigning Brave CF Bantamweight Champion. Katona formerly competed in the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

and was the featherweight winner of '' The Ultimate Fighter 27''.

Personal life and background

Katona was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. He started training in

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

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 Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. He started

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

at Winnipeg Academy of Mixed Martial Arts. In 2011, Katona fought and won in the Canadian

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...

championship and the Ringside World Championships in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. He earned a degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Katona began competing in mixed martial arts in 2010 earning an amateur record of 3–0. After turning professional he competed in smaller promotions earning himself an unbeaten record of 6–0, he then participated in the 27th season of The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated. Having previously 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 Kavanaugh. Later that year he would earn himself a spot on

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

season 27: Undefeated which featured undefeated featherweights and lightweights.

''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. On the show, Katona first defeated

Kyler Phillips Kyler Phillips (born June 12, 1995) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background At the age of 3, Phillip's father took him to the Gracie Academy out of Torrance, ...

via majority decision and in the semi-finals he defeated

Bryce Mitchell Bryce Andrew Mitchell (born October 4, 1994) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mitchell appeared in the reality television series '' ...

via third round submission (rear-naked choke). Katona then went on to win the final against Jay Cucciniello via a unanimous decision at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale. In doing so he became the 3rd Canadian in the shows run to win the tournament and is also the first Canadian to win the competition outside of the TUF: Nations tournament format.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Returning to bantamweight Katona faced

Matthew Lopez Matthew Lopez (born December 12, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Lopez was born in Safford, Arizona, United States. Lopez's father was t ...

in a bout on December 8, 2018 at

UFC 231 ''UFC 231: Holloway vs. Ortega'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on December 8, 2018 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background A UFC Featherweight Championship bout between ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Katona next faced

Merab Dvalishvili Merab Dvalishvili (born January 10, 1991) is a Georgian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of March 13, 2023, he is #1 in the UFC bantamweight ra ...

on May 4, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 9 in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada. Katona would lose the fight via unanimous decision. Katona faced

Hunter Azure Hunter Dean Azure (born March 2, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Azure was born on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in P ...

on September 14, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje. Despite moments of success Katona would lose the fight via unanimous decision. Katona was released by the UFC on February 11, 2020. After going 2–2 in the promotion.

Elite MMA Championship (EMC)

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. However, the event was postponed due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic.

Brave Combat Federation

Katona faced Borislav Nikolić on April 1, 2021, at Brave CF 50. 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. He won by guillotine in the third round. Katona faced Bair Shtepin on August 21, 2021, at Brave CF 53. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Katona defeated Hamza Kooheji on March 11, 2022, at Brave CF 57 for the vacant BRAVE CF Bantamweight Championship.

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

27 featherweight tournament winner *

Brave Combat Federation BRAVE Combat Federation is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in the Middle East. The organization was established on 23 September 2016 by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa. BRAVE Combat Federation features mixed martial artists from mor ...

** BRAVE CF Bantamweight Championship (One time) ***One successful title defense

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Gamzat Magomedov , Decision (unanimous) , Brave CF 63 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 , Isa Town, Bahrain , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Hamza Kooheji , Decision (split) , Brave CF 57 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 , Isa Town, Bahrain , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Bair Shtepin , Decision (unanimous) , Brave CF 53 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

, Kazakhstan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Borislav Nikolić , Submission (guillotine choke) , Brave CF 50 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:40 , Arad, Bahrain , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Jay Cucciniello , Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Stephen Cervantes , Decision (unanimous) , Mercenary Combat League 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Austin Ryan , Submission (kneebar) , XFFC 13: Future Stars , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:49 ,

Grande Prairie, Alberta Grande Prairie is a city in northwest Alberta, Canada within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Patrick Ward , Decision (unanimous) , Havoc FC 11 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Red Deer, Alberta Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and education. ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Josh Rich , Decision (unanimous) , Prestige FC 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Myles Anderson , Submission (guillotine choke) , Prestige FC 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:12 ,

Weyburn, Saskatchewan Weyburn is the eleventh-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. The city has a population of 10,870. It is on the Souris River southeast of the provincial capital of Regina and is north from the North Dakota border in the United States. The n ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Michael Hay , KO (punch) , MFC 41: All In , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:47 ,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

, Canada , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Katona, Brad 1991 births Canadian male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Shotokan Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people Sportspeople from Winnipeg Canadian male karateka Canadian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters People from St. Vital, Winnipeg