Grant Dawson is finally headlining a UFC card.
Dawson On Landing Main Event Spot
After 9 fights inside the Octagon, the #10 UFC Lightweight contender gets the main event spotlight this fall. On Oct. 7, Dawson will take on Bobby ‘King’ Green in a bout scheduled for five rounds.
With less than a month out from the fight, Dawson speaks on the short-notice opportunity and how he almost ended up fighting somebody else entirely.
“It was kind of one of those things that was rushed,” Dawson told Middle Easy about the main event booking. “It was kinda like a three-way tie between me, Bobby Green and Jalin Turner. For whatever reason, it ended up being me and Bobby Green. So, I’m really happy with the matchup. Another big veteran, another big name, somebody who’s gonna really hype up the fight. And my very first main event, I could not be happier.
“I’m assuming [the UFC] wanted to do me and Jalin more just because we’re both ranked and that Jalin couldn’t do it because of the weight. Again, that’s just a guess. Maybe something else, I don’t know.
‘I’m Ready For It’
Green might not be ranked like the #12 Jalin Turner, but he is coming off one of the biggest wins of his career… that being a submission win over lightweight legend Tony Ferguson at UFC 291.
‘KGD’ is ready for the challenge that comes with facing ‘King’.
“It just fell right in and, and I’m super happy with it. I think Bobby’s a really good fighter. I think that he’s gonna hype the fight up a bunch. It’s another veteran that I get to go out there and see how I do. Ricky Glenn was probably my first veteran, but this is my first established real veteran that’s been in the top 15 for a long time. [Green’s] fought the who’s who. I’m ready for it, man.”
Reaping The Rewards
Dawson was given the opportunity to co-headline in his last outing and he made the most out of it, dominating heavy favorite Damir Ismagulov.
The 29 year-old feels as though this main event bump is because of the incredible display he put on in July.
“My whole goal in that fight [against Ismagulov] was to show the UFC that you can put me in these big spots against these big fighters, against these guys that maybe I’m not even supposed to beat and I will still perform,” Dawson continued. “Obviously we know how that went. It was a great fight. I really showed how good I can be. I’m think I’m being rewarded for that and call it God, the universe, whatever you wanna say. I think that I’m being rewarded for the time that I’ve put into this.”
‘I Might Be The First Guy To Ever Submit Bobby Green’
Dawson isn’t taking Green, the 10-year UFC veteran, lightly at all. But, he’s confident he’ll get the job done on Oct. 7.
“Now that’s not saying they gave me an easy fight. Bobby Green is a very difficult fight. He’s a very good veteran crafty, and I have to be on my P’s and Q’s if I wanna get through him like I’ve gotten through everybody else.”
“I think Bobby gets to decide how this goes. I’m gonna be on him like white on rice. I’m gonna be grinding, I’m good to go five rounds. If he wants to protect his neck, not take any chances, then I’m cool going five rounds. But if he wants to try to escape or get something going, I think that he might make a mistake and I might be the first guy to ever submit Bobby Green.”
