The move from Michael Chandler’s team to Conor McGregor’s team appears to have paid off for Brad Katona.
On last week’s episode of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Katona, a Season 31 bantamweight semifinalist and the Season 27 winner, accepted the opportunity to swap teams and train with Team McGregor, which had lost all but one of the quarterfinal bouts. The move allowed Katona, who trains at SBG Ireland with McGregor and his coaching staff, to reunite with his training partners and coaches. Katona believes the move is what he needs to become the first fighter to win two seasons on TUF. Now he gets an opportunity to prove it.
Let’s look at the biggest moments from Episode 10 on Tuesday and what future storylines may lie ahead.
Bantamweight: Timur Valiev, Team Chandler vs. Brad Katona, Team McGregor
Katona beats Valiev by split decision
In what was easily the most competitive fight of the season, the UFC veterans went the distance. Katona appeared to be leading the dance on the feet in Round 1, but Valiev scored a pair of takedowns that might have stolen the round for him. Round 2 was much of the same. Both fighters had moments, with Katona landing some heavy punches on counterstrikes while Valiev continually attacked Katona’s legs and landed a takedown just before the bell. In Round 3, Valiev returned to attacking Katona’s legs and mixing in punches while fighting off the pressure of Katona. In the end, Katona picked up a split decision to advance to the bantamweight finale.
Before competing on this TUF season, Katona had last fought in Brave CF, where he was the bantamweight champion. Katona was on the UFC roster from 2018 to 2019. His last two fights with the promotion ended in unanimous-decision losses to current title contender Merab Dvalishvili and fellow TUF Season 31 competitor Hunter Azure.
Can Katona finish this impressive run?
Brad Katona makes the switch to Team McGregor 👀 #TUF31 pic.twitter.com/ifnWjqz30T
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 2, 2023
Katona is in a unique position — having won the competition in a previous TUF season. We’ve already seen he has what it takes to win this competition, but this time he has the added benefit of doing it with a potential advantage. He gets to work with the same team that helped him make a run to the UFC the first time. Meanwhile, none of the other remaining competitors have that in their favor. That might be enough for Katona to become the first two-time TUF winner.
Could ‘Iron’ Mike become Coach Mike?
The LW champ @MakhachevMMA stopped by to show some support for his friend Timur Valiev 🤝🏆#TUF31 is LIVE on @ESPN pic.twitter.com/babiCQNO3m
— The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) August 2, 2023
While training for this upcoming fight, Valiev got a visit from his friend and former training partner, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
During their conversation, Makhachev asked Valiev how his experience on the show was going and if he believed Chandler and his coaching staff were good. In response, Valiev had only two words to say: “the best.”
Though Valiev’s answer was concise, it was also equally telling of how well Chandler has been leading his team this season. In the first round, Team Chandler won all but one of the first eight fights.
Valiev, who fought in the UFC from 2020 until 2022, has already proved to have the skill to compete at MMA’s highest level. He has also trained with some of the best in the business, such as Makhachev. Despite that, Valiev still believes that his experience with Chandler and his staff has provided the knowledge and skills he needs to get back to the UFC. Sure, the fight with Katona didn’t go his way, but that doesn’t all fall on Chandler. Valiev was clearly prepared for the fight, as he even won on one of the judge’s scorecards.
Chandler has been doing a great job of preparing his fighters for their bouts while finding ways to connect with them and build relationships.
I’m not saying it’s time for Chandler to hang up the gloves for good and pick up a pair of focus mitts. However, whenever he decides he’s done fighting, it certainly appears he’ll have a future around the sport.
Next week’s matchup
Lightweight: Kurt Holobaugh, Team Chandler vs. Jason Knight, Team Chandler
Here’s everything we know about these two fighters:
Name: Kurt Holobaugh
Record: 19-7
UFC record: 0-4
Age: 36
Fighting out of: Denham Springs, Louisiana
Last TUF fight: Holobaugh def. Lee Hammond by second-round submission
Name: Jason Knight
Record: 23-7
UFC record: 4-5
Age: 30
Fighting out of: D’Iberville, Mississippi
Last TUF fight: Knight def. Landon Quinones by first-round submission