OTTAWA, Ontario – Brad Katona has known from the moment he accepted his UFC on ESPN+ 9 matchup with Merab Dvalishvili that his head coach, John Kavanagh, wouldn’t be present on fight night but said he’s OK with the idea.
Katona (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) said all the work has been done for the bantamweight fight with Dvalishvili (8-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC). He certainly wouldn’t mind if the SBG Ireland front man was in his corner, but he’s able to rationalize it in a way that makes him feel comfortable going into the octagon.
“We prepared for this, we prepared for John not to be there,” Katona told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “Really, this feels like one of those fights where the small tidbits of advice your corner is going to give you isn’t going to change the outcome. If anything in my game gets exploited in this fight and we’re not going to get the win, it’s because we didn’t do the work months ago. It’s not because of anything that happens in the 15 minutes he didn’t tell me. With that said, I have the second best corner I could ask for.”
UFC on ESPN+ 9 takes place Saturday at Canadian Tire Centre. The entire card streams on ESPN+.
With Kavanagh unavailable, Katona said the coach he worked with prior to moving to SBG Ireland will be there to help him, along with others. He said that puts him at ease going into what he expects to be a difficult contest.
“The key is to stay on and sharp the entire fight,” Katona said. “It’s going to be potentially a long 15 minutes. He pushes forward no matter how tired he is, no matter what he’s been hit with. That wears on some fighters. You can see it from some of his past opponents. They can’t seem to stop the pressure that is Merab. He puts on deadly pressure. For me, it’s not getting relaxed or comfortable in there where I could be caught with something more unorthodox that he throws because does throw some wild shots.
“It’s Merab – good luck going out there trying to finish him quick. … I’d certainly like the finish to get out of there as fast as possible, but with certain fights you’ve got to be prepared for the long haul.”
To hear more from Katona, check out the video above.
For more on UFC on ESPN+ 9, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
