MMA fighter kicking up a storm

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This article was published 17/01/2022 (1110 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Katie Saull couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas present.

The 34-year-old mixed martial artist was back home in Winnipeg for the holidays when her phone rang on Dec. 23. Invicta Fighting Championships, a women’s MMA promotion that was founded in 2012, offered Saull a fight on their Jan. 12 card in Kansas City, Kan., against Tabatha Watkins.

Two and a half weeks’ notice isn’t ideal, but Saull didn’t mind. Coming off of two heartbreaking split decision losses, the Charleswood native, who now lives in Dublin and trains at Straight Blast Gym Ireland, was eager to get back in the ring.

But Saull, an atomweight fighter, ended up having several curveballs thrown her way during fight week.

“It was only a matter of days before the fight where (Watkins) tested positive for COVID. We had a replacement within hours that agreed to step in and we agreed to the fight, but she also tested positive,” said Saull, who’s spending a week in Winnipeg before flying back to Dublin, in a phone interview.

“… It can be quite stressful when you don’t know if you’re fighting. It’s one thing to say if it’s off or on, but it’s when you’re in limbo that it gets very stressful, especially cause of dieting and all those things.”

Fortunately, Invicta got American Tamika Jones (1-0) to fill the void and take the bout at the last minute. She barely had any time to study her new opponent, but Saull made the most of the opportunity by making Jones tap out in the first round with an arm bar. The victory was Saull’s first in Invicta. Saull, who goes by the nickname “The Queen of the North” and is a former member of the Canadian national boxing team, now owns a career 4-5 professional record.

“My original goal when I decided to start MMA with Curtis (Brigham, the head coach at Winnipeg Academy of Mixed Martial Arts) was to become the Invicta champ and that’s what I’m going to do,” Saull said.

“It’s exciting that I’m where I’ve always envisioned being. It was tough to take those two split decision losses, but it was funny because I fought two people who I was watching fight amateur when I had no fights and hadn’t done MMA officially. The fact that I was able to split with people who’ve been at this way longer than me is kind of awesome if you think about it. But I want to avenge at least a couple of these and get the belt.”

Saull originally got into combat sports when her dad, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Rick Saull, recommended a boxing class as a form of exercise. Saull quickly fell in love with the sport and had her first amateur boxing fight when she was 19. Saull eventually crossed over to MMA after trying her hand at jiu-jitsu. Saull turned pro in 2017, the same year she moved to Dublin with boyfriend Brad Katona, a fellow Winnipegger and cage fighter, despite having no amateur MMA fights to her name.

“It’s tough to make a living, especially if you’re not in the UFC. I’m really lucky that my family is really supportive of my choices,” Saull said.

“My dad has always been my biggest fan. To be honest, he’s been really, really supportive. So has my mom. He used to judge boxing and MMA for fun in the city. He’s always been supportive. I’m lucky… But being away from family and a couple of my close friends (has been hard).”

Having Katona, a former UFC fighter who’s now signed to a company in the Middle East called Brave Combat Federation, on the same rollercoaster has made the journey easier. They’ve been pushing each other to get better for as long as they’ve known one another.

“We were friends for seven or eight years through boxing and MMA. Not to self praise too much, but we were always the two hardest workers in the gym and the only ones that were in the gym every day for the most part out of all the people around us. That’s not a shot at anyone, but we were always the last two standing,” Saull said “… We were always those two that were very consistent and when we ended up together, it was unexpected, but it made it all the more special.”

UFC isn’t the goal for Saull because, well, it isn’t an option. The UFC currently doesn’t have an atomweight division (105 pounds), but that hasn’t discouraged Saull one bit. When the final bell rings on her career, she hopes to help more people, especially women, get into the fight scene, but that’s at the back of her mind at the moment.

Saull has a lot of arm bars still left in her.

“I could probably get my shot at the belt within the next couple years. I’d say that’s very doable. If I do win it, I can guarantee that I’d defend it. I think I have a good stretch of time left and I’m excited about that. I feel like I’m a young 34. I feel like I’m peaking now.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31