Brad Katona


Brad Devin Katona is a Canadian mixed martial arts fighter who formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Bantamweight division and he was The Ultimate Fighter Featherweight winner.

Personal life

Katona earned a degree in mechanical engineering from University of Manitoba.

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. He started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Winnipeg Academy of Mixed Martial Arts and he also competed wrestling in high school. Katona also fought and won in the Canadian Golden Gloves championship and the Ringside World Championships in Kansas City, Missouri in 2011.

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.
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 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 competing in the Featherweight tournament. On the show, Katona first defeated Kyler Phillips via majority decision and in the semi-finals he defeated Bryce Mitchell via third round submission. 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 in a bout on December 8, 2018 at UFC 231. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Katona next faced Merab Dvalishvili on May 4, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 9 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Katona would lose the fight via unanimous decision.
Katona faced Hunter Azure on September 14, 2019 at. 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.

Championships and accomplishments