Brad Katona and Merab Dvalishvili faced each other in the cage tonight (Saturday, May 4, 2019) inside the Canadian Tire Center in Ottowa, Ontario, Canada, only on ESPN+.
Both men started out trading kicks, Merab looking for spinning stuff while Katona looked for leg kicks. Eventually they became more comfortable and began trading punches in combination. Halfway through the round, Merab took Katona down briefly, landing ground and pound. Katona responded with a combination into a takedown attempt of his own a few moments later, pushing Dvalishvili into the cage. Merab eventually spun him around, got backed up with double underhooks into the center of the cage, and tripped Katona to the ground. He landed in full guard, and from the bottom Katona looked for elbows. Merab kept his head in Katona’s chest and landed hooks, then at the very end of the round postured up, landing hard hammerfists.
Dvalishvili started the second round bouncing around the outside of the Octagon, before leaping in with a quick takedown. Once on top, he employed the same strategy, keeping his own posture low and his hands wrapped around Katona’s waist to keep him down. Eventually he spotted an opportunity to snake his way into half guard for a little while, where he landed a bit harder ground and pound with hammerfists. Katona recovered full guard, but was unable to do much with it. He tried for a guillotine, but there was nothing there. That’s where the fight remained for four minutes, until the referee stood them up. Katona looked for heavy punches into the clinch. He got a bodylock there and looked for sneaky knees to Merab’s face over his own arm arm.
I missed the third round due to streaming issues, but it appeared to be also defined by Merab’s wrestling as well. He won the bout, and afterwards shouted out his native country, Georgia, while wearing a black papakha, like a miniature Khabib.
Result: Merab Dvalishvili def. Brad Katona via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
For complete UFC Ottowa results and coverage click here.