The UFC’s next expected Canadian date has added recent TUF 31 winner Brad Katona.
Katona (13-2), a Winnipeger who made the move to Dublin to train with SBG Ireland, will face Garrett Armfield (9-3) at UFC 297 on January 20, 2024. Though not officially announced, multiple sources previously confirmed to Cageside Press that the card will take place in Toronto, Ontario.
News of the fight was first reported by Eurosport’s Marcel Dorff, and later confirmed by Armfield on social media.
The Canadian first hit the radar as part of The Ultimate Fighter 27, a season that featured entirely undefeated talent. Katona would win the season, earning himself a UFC deal, and win his first two fights out of the gate in the UFC.
Back-to-back losses against Merab Dvalishvili and Hunter Azure in 2019 left him with a 2-2 record through four fights, however — and the UFC showed Katona the door.
Returning to the regional scene, Katona went 4-0 for notable Middle Eastern promotion Brave CF, winning and defending their bantamweight title in the process. He was then brought back to TUF as part of The Ultimate Fighter 31, initially training under Michael Chandler before switching teams after the opening round to work with teammate Conor McGregor and his SBG Ireland coach John Kavanagh.
Katona would once again win the season, defeating Cody Gibson at UFC 292 to earn himself a second shot with the company. In the process, Brad Katona also became the first-ever two-time Ultimate Fighter champion.
Armfield is 1-1 in the UFC to date, and coming off a win over Japan’s Toshiomi Kazama.
The only other fight reported so far for UFC 297, expected to take place at the ScotiaBank Arena in Toronto on Jan. 20, 2024, sees TriStar’s Arnold Allen take on undefeated Russian and former M-1 champ Movsar Evloev. More bouts will almost certainly trickle out in the coming weeks, with an official announcement of the event’s location expected soon.
