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LAS VEGAS – Grant Dawson is off to a close to flawless begin in his UFC profession, however his one bump within the highway was nonetheless consuming at him heading into UFC on ESPN 35.
This previous October, Dawson was up two rounds on all three scorecards in opposition to Ricky Glenn within the UFC Battle Night time 196 co-main occasion. However within the third, Glenn turned the tide. A dominant final 5 minutes obtained him a 10-8 spherical from two of the judges, and that left Dawson shaking his head with a majority draw.
The end result, whereas not a loss, nonetheless was checked out by Dawson as a setback after a 5-0 UFC begin. And after years of coaching at Glory MMA & Health in Missouri with head coach James Krause, Dawson made the decision to change camps.
He and his fiancee uprooted their Midwest lives for American Prime Group in South Florida. The danger was rewarded when Dawson (18-1-1 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC) submitted Jared Gordon (18-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) within the third spherical Saturday in Las Vegas.
“There was quite a lot of stress going into this battle with the camp change,” Dawson mentioned at his post-fight information convention. “I modified all the pieces besides my walkout track – actually all the pieces besides my walkout track. I’m in a brand new residence. I had simply purchased a home again in Missouri – a good looking home that I wished to be in for 5 – 6 years, and I used to be in it for 5 – 6 months, and we moved. We obtained a brand new place (in Florida), and it’s small, it’s cozy. There have been quite a lot of sacrifices that went into this transfer. All of it paid off tonight.”
The walkout track that remained, and Dawson mentioned would possibly at all times stay, is “Hellfire” from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” However reasonably than stroll out to the Disney model of the track, he comes out to Jonathan Younger’s cowl of it – a decidedly much less Disney-riffic metalfied model.
Like his battle in opposition to Glenn, Dawson had little challenge with Gordon within the first 10 minutes. However within the third, he introduced a bit hellfire like his walkout music when he took Gordon’s again for a rear-naked choke.
Dawson mentioned that third-round end was an ideal finish to the story, given how his third-round in opposition to Glenn this previous fall is what led to a draw as an alternative of a win.
“I’m glad that (the end) got here within the third spherical. I do know that sounds silly, however I’m very glad it got here within the third spherical,” Dawson mentioned. “I proved to those guys that final battle … that final spherical of that final battle, that’s by no means going to occur once more. I can battle laborious for 15 or 25 minutes, no matter it want be.”
Dawson mentioned he needs to battle another time in 2022 forward of a marriage deliberate for November with unbeaten atomweight fighter Elle Wagman. At 6-0-1 within the UFC and unbeaten in three fights at light-weight, Dawson possible can count on a ranked opponent his subsequent day out.
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