LAS VEGAS – Things weren’t necessarily hard for Brad Katona as a kid growing up in Canada. But then again, they weren’t always easy, either.

Katona took longer than normal to start talking and needed to go to speech therapy. And then there was his book smarts, which made him, in his words, “nerdy.” It sounds like a classic case for school-age bullies to leave their marks, and Katona came out the other end as a tough fighter, right?

But if there was any trauma to speak of from his youth, Katona said it didn’t really affect him. He was shy, perhaps, but not overly bullied. And then he got into fighting.

“When I found martial arts, I started gaining and gaining more confidence,” Katona said earlier this week. “I was a little bit more outgoing. I was always the nerdy kid all through at least junior high. Then in high school, I was the nerdy kid who also fought, which was a weird mix. But it was never something I had to overcome. I was just a kid who did these combat sports, but also was in calculus class.”

Now that “nerdy kid” is poised to become the latest winner of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Katona (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) fights Jay Cucciniello (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in “The Ultimate Fighter 27” featherweight tournament final Friday night.

The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale takes place Friday at Pearl Theater at The Palms in Las Vegas. The event airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

A win would make Katona the first Canadian to win a regular version of the long-running reality competition series, which wrapped up its regular-season run Wednesday night.

“It was just Canada’s birthday – it was just Canada Day on Sunday, so it would be a belated birthday present to the country, I hope,” Katona said. “I’m proud to represent Canada, and I’m proud to represent the SBG team there in Ireland. Being the first Canadian to win an ‘Ultimate Fighter’ would be huge.”

In 2017, Katona moved to Ireland to train with the SBG team in Dublin. Shortly thereafter, he got his tryout shot for “TUF 27.” And really, the rest is history. Despite a degree in engineering, the nerdy Canadian decided to take a shot at being a pro fighter, and it’s working out pretty well so far.

A win Thursday night would be the icing on the cake for now.

“It was my passion, and I knew who I was career-wise and life-wise,” Katona said. “I haven’t started a family. My girlfriend and I just moved to Ireland, so we’re able to pursue, selfishly, your dream. Not many people have that opportunity to go full into what they really want to do. I knew I could be a good engineer, maybe a great engineer, but I definitely knew I wanted to be a great fighter. So I went that route, and if it failed, I can always go back to engineering.”

But so far, so good – it’s not likely Katona has to worry about failing any time soon.

For more on The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.