Better than a kick in the head

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/04/2020 (1740 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brad Katona went from training alongside Conor McGregor in a top-notch facility in Ireland to working out in his parents’ garage in Winnipeg.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered how Katona hones his craft, but the mixed martial artist nicknamed “Superman” isn’t complaining or making excuses. After returning home from Ireland more than a month ago, the United Boxing Club lent Katona weights and a heavy bag, and the Winnipeg Academy of Mixed Martial Arts dropped off some training mats.

“Now, this isn’t boxing, but if you watch old-school boxers and watch what they did, they ran, they did their hill sprints, they jumped rope, they hit the bag, they shadowboxed, and that’s what I have to work with. So, just like old boxers like Sugar Ray Robinson, Roberto Durán and all those guys, I have about as much equipment as they did, yet they went on to win world titles and become some of the best boxers of all time,” said Katona, 28, who graduated from the University of Manitoba with a degree in mechanical engineering before becoming a cage fighter.

“Recently, I’ve done a deep dive into boxing, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a while and now I have no excuse as I have all the time in the world… The goal is to keep getting better. It’s not just to maintain. This is my job. This is my equivalent of working from home.”

It also helps that Katona, a bantam-weight fighter with an 8-2 career record, has a fellow professional fighter under the same roof as him, his girlfriend Katie Saull. The couple was living together in Dublin and training at Straight Blast Gym Ireland with coach John Kavanagh, who produced UFC superstar McGregor. At 105 pounds, Saull competes as an atomweight, the smallest female weight class. She is signed to Invicta Fighting Championships and has a 3-4 professional record.

“She’s not the ideal training partner for me. She’s a little too small,” Katona said with a laugh. “She’s very skilled, but she’s not the same size or strength as me. But, with drills, we’re still able to improve. Between the bag work and hand pads, she’s able to push me and I’m able to push her. So, it’s been a little bit of being each other’s coach, if you will.”

Katona made a name for himself in the summer of 2018 when he earned a six-figure UFC contract by winning the company’s popular reality show called The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). It was the 27th season of the program, and Katona’s experience featured a twist as the season was dedicated to fighters with undefeated records. Katona ended up being the best of the bunch by defeating Jay Cucciniello in the final at the Pearl Theatre in Paradise, Nev., to win the eight-man tournament. Katona made history with the victory, becoming the first Canadian to win a regular season of TUF. The UFC produced a special edition of the show in 2014 that pitted Canadian fighters against Australians and two Canucks walked away with contracts.

Katona got his UFC career off to an ideal start by defeating Matthew Lopez by unanimous decision at UFC 231 in Toronto on Dec. 8, 2018 to keep his perfect record intact. His next two fights also came on Canadian soil, but the end results weren’t the same. Merab Dvalishvili handed Katona his first career loss last May when the Winnipegger fell via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 151 in Ottawa. Katona suffered the same fate in September in Vancouver at UFC Fight Night 158, with Hunter Azure coming away with a controversial win. Katona edged his opponent in nearly every stat, but the judges sided with Azure.

‘…old boxers like Sugar Ray Robinson, Roberto Durán and all those guys, I have about as much equipment as they did’– Brad Katona, (facing) shown during a fight with Hunter Azure

On the surface, the losing streak seemed like it’d be only a minor setback. But the UFC thought otherwise and released Katona from his contract in December, although the news wasn’t made public until February. Katona admits the fact all of his fights went to decision likely played a factor in his release as “everyone likes home runs,” he said.

“I was surprised. I guess the natural human emotions are you’re surprised, there’s the disappointment, there’s the anger and maybe you go back to a little bit of sadness,” said Katona.

“But then you kind of tell yourself ‘OK, let’s just keep pushing forward. Quit feeling bad for yourself.’ Just with the timing of things, it is unfortunate because we weren’t able to bounce back and talk to a major promotion after that because I got released, then I got injured (in training), so that wasn’t a good time to be pushing for any signings with any organizations like Bellator, PFL (Professional Fighters League), Brave Combat Federation. There’s a lot of big organizations out there, which I think would be happy to have me and I’d be happy to fight for them. But as soon as I was back healthy and had a game plan for the year, the coronavirus hit.”

Katona has every right to be bitter: he was let go from his dream job, he’s now stuck on the shelf with no timeline for his next fight, and there’s no telling when his next paycheque will come or who will be signing it. Yet, he isn’t bitter and he’s not dwelling on any of those things.

“I’ve been focused on what I have control over. I think that’s the key and I think that can be helpful to some people… Right now I’m surrounded by family, which is fantastic. I’ve gotten a routine down, which is probably the best thing I could probably do, and I’ve been working hard and working hard on improving,” said Katona, who got his start in the sport as a 14-year-old student at Dakota Collegiate.

“I’ve just been trying to be optimistic… I don’t know when I’m going to compete again and for me, that’s my work. I don’t know when I’m going to get paid again, but I know I’m still doing the sport I love, I’m still getting better, I’m still fired up and there’s a lot of exciting things to look forward to. It just may take a little bit of time, so for the time being, it’s just continuing on that path and thankfully doing what I love.”

After winning TUF, Katona — who moved to Dublin in November 2017 to take his game to a new level — told the Free Press that his goal is to become a world champion. While these past few months have knocked Katona down in more ways than one, his eyes are still on the prize.

“There are many great fighters who have lost before. Most great fighters have lost before. You remind yourself why you do it and it’s because I love it. Thankfully, right now it is my living,” he said.

“I started competing with the goal of succeeding and being the best me I can be and that’s the same today. The goal is to be the best in the world and how I’m going to do that is by being the best version of myself possible. So, I’ve just been trying to push that boundary every day in the gym. Especially with what’s going on, it’s easy to get distracted, but once you’re in the middle of working hard, everything else kind of fades away.”

 

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31