Dublin-based Canadian Brad Katona has booked his first fight following his release by the UFC, and there’s championship gold on the line.
Katona (8-2) has signed a multi-fight contract with European promotion Elite MMA Championship (EMC) and will challenge the organization’s reigning bantamweight champion Stipe Brcic in the co-main event of EMC 6 on Oct. 31. Promotion officials confirmed the matchup with MMA Junkie.
SBG-trained Katona won the featherweight tournament on Season 27 of “The Ultimate Fighter” by defeating England’s Jay Cucciniello in the final. He then went on to defeat Matthew Lopez at UFC 231. Both wins came via unanimous decision.
Back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Merab Dvalishvili and Hunter Azure led to Katona being released by the UFC with a 2-2 promotional record. Now, more than a year after his last appearance, he’s set to return to action against Croatia’s Brcic (8-1), who captured the EMC bantamweight title by defeating Brazil’s Kewin Jacques Rangel and Italy’s Luca Iovine in the same night to win the promotion’s 135-pound tournament at EMC 4.
EMC 6 will be headlined by a welterweight title bout as Austrian former UFC athlete Ismail Naurdiev and Georgian contender Amiran Gogoladze face off in the final of the promotion’s welterweight grand prix, with the inaugural 170-pound title on the line.
EMC 6 takes place Oct. 31 at the UFD Training Center, Dusseldorf, Germany. The event will be streamed live on FITE.tv.
‘The Ultimate Fighter’ winner Brad Katona signs with EMC, set for bantamweight title tilt