Ozyurt Predicts Early KO Of Cataline At BKB 61

Hatice Ozyurt expects her striking to carry her to a first- or second-round stoppage when she meets Jackie Cataline at BKB 61 in London on Nov. 14.

Ozyurt, a Turkish-Dutch fighter who works as a senior manager at a maximum-security prison in the Netherlands, told Sherdog that Cataline's wrestling background won't save her in the bare-knuckle format. The former grappler has made no secret of her plan to close distance and clinch, but Ozyurt said she has no intention of obliging.

"I'm not going to hug her in the fight," she said in an interview recorded Oct. 30. "I want to change levels with the fists. Hopefully with my boxing skills and my experience, it will be a KO maybe in the first or second round. It's not going to last all five rounds."

Ozyurt's Striking Experience Against Cataline's Grappling

Ozyurt pointed to her nearly 70 professional fights as proof she can handle a wrestler's pressure. She acknowledged Cataline could attempt takedowns but said she's comfortable fighting on the ground if needed. "That ground is my playground," she said, per the report.

Outside the ring, Ozyurt has spent 17 years working with incarcerated men at what she described as the toughest prison in the Netherlands. She views her role as a chance to guide people who never had support earlier in life. "They are children who are damaged. I want them to feel that there is a person who wants to hear them, wants to help them," she said. She hopes her journey from the Netherlands to representing Turkey on the international bare-knuckle stage can serve as an example to those she works with.

BKB 61 takes place Nov. 14 in London.

Photo by Patricia Prudente on Unsplash

Original reporting:

• sherdog.com — BKB fighter who works in prison predicts early KO against Jackie Cataline