Grant Dawson believes the PFL-Bellator merger is bad for the growth of MMA.
In late November, the Professional Fighters League officially announced their acquisition of Bellator. There were mixed reactions to the news, as some people were intrigued by the PFL potentially challenging the UFC, while others were concerned another MMA promotion went out of business.
During an exclusive interview with MiddleEasy, UFC lightweight Grant Dawson had this to say about the merger:
“It’s bad for MMA. I actually am very worried for MMA outside of the UFC. I think that it’s dying. I think that MMA outside of the UFC is a dying sport and that really scares me.”
Dawson continued by offering his solution to the alleged problem:
“The UFC needs to save the sport of MMA again. The way that they need to do it is they need to do what the WWE does. They need to have smaller promotions that they fund. So, make the Contender Series a show that’s year-round. Don’t make it you win a fight you get signed. You get signed to Contender Series, there is a belt, there is a weight class, you get five [thousand dollars] and five [thousand dollars] to show up.”
Watch Grant Dawson’s entire exclusive interview with MiddleEasy below:
Grant Dawson talks about what’s next for his fighting career
On October 7, Grant Dawson’s nine-fight UFC unbeaten streak was ended by a first-round knockout loss against Bobby Green. The 29-year-old might have suffered a significant setback, but he already has plans to bounce back in 2024.
During the previously mentioned exclusive interview, Dawson had this to about his next fight:
“They’ve kind of given me a name that they’re working on and then they gave me like a preferred date. I would like to fight in January, but now it’s looking more like February. Honestly, I have a goal of fighting three times next year. That is my goal, fighting three times, winning three times, and, hopefully, by the beginning of 2025 being back to where I was before I lost to Bobby [Green].”
Dawson continued by naming the opponents he hopes to face next year:
“My goal for 2024 is Diego Ferreira, Matt Frevola, and then Jalin Turner. Hopefully be right back to being the guy that everybody is talking about.”
Grant Dawson made his UFC debut in March 2019. Following a five-fight win streak, Dawson went the distance with Ricky Glenn, which was scored a majority draw. He then won three more fights before losing against Bobby Green.
It’ll be intriguing to see if the 29-year-old can bounce back in 2024 and silence the doubters.
