EXCLUSIVE: Ronda Rousey-trained bantamweight Davey Grant is back in Sin City and ready for an all-action UFC classic with Daniel Santos in the Octagon in Las Vegas
UFC match-makers and MMA fans have known for a long time that when you see Davey Grant’s name on the bill, an edge-of-your-seat barnburner is almost guaranteed.
Win or lose, the Bishop Auckland bantamweight gives viewers more bang for their buck than perhaps any other fighter on the UFC roster. So when ‘Dangerous’ says his “entire career” has been building towards his clash with Daniel Santos tonight in Las Vegas, clear your diary, turn off your phone, lock the door and get ready for the fireworks to ignite in the Octagon.
Grant said: “This is going to be a fantastic fight. I feel like I have trained my entire career for this fight. This is where you are going to see the best of me. It can’t not be a fun fight, this one. He seems like a cool guy who brings it every single time – and I do as well. There is no way this is going to be a bad fight. It is going to be fantastic.”
Asked if his clash at the UFC’s Apex had fight-of-the-night potential, Grant added: “There is always that chance when you put two guys like us in the Octagon together. I think it is going to be absolute fireworks from the off.
“Obviously I will be going in there for the knockout – I want a performance bonus rather than a fight of the night bonus!”
The 39-year-old got his big UFC break in Vegas when he was coached by Ronda Rousey on the 2013 season of reality show The Ultimate Fighter, losing in the final but still earning a deal from president Dana White.
Tonight’s Fight Night, which is headlined by Manchester featherweight Lerone Murphy taking on Josh Emmett, will be Grant’s seventh fight in Sin City.
Asked if he feels right at home among the roulette wheels, slot machines and superstar acts on the Strip, the British fighter added: “Definitely, it’s so much easier. As soon as I land in Vegas I can hit the ground running.
“I have everything sorted. I have a network of people, plus my team and friends. I know how everything works at the UFC’s Performance Institute (gym).
“It is just so much easier and it is like fighting at home, it really is.
“The Ultimate Fighter still feels fresh in my mind, but so much has happened since then as well. It is a weird feeling as it doesn’t feel as long ago as it was, but so much has happened and it has been a great ride so far.
“Hopefully I can get a fantastic win Saturday night and then have maybe two or three more fights this year. That would be great.”
