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Grant Dawson poses for a portrait after his victory during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC)
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Grant Dawson's Very Good Year

Lightweight Looks To Ride 2024's Winning Momentum Into UFC 311 Showdown With Diego Ferreira On January 18

Grant Dawson is back. Well, he never left, so let’s just say there were some people wondering what went wrong when he was halted in the first round by King Green back in October of 2023. 

Nothing. He got caught. These things happen in MMA. And if there were any doubters to be silenced, “KGD” did just that in 2024.

“Two wins, one finish, incredible after-fight speech, I like it,” he said. “So yeah, good year.”

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Dawson’s two walks to the Octagon saw him win a comfortable unanimous decision over Joe Solecki in June, and then stop Rafa Garcia in less than two rounds. It was workmanlike stuff from the Wisconsin native that didn’t put him back in the rankings at 155 pounds, but did put him in a good place heading into his UFC 311 bout against Diego Ferreira on January 18. 

MORE UFC 311: Islam Makhachev Interview | Arman Tsarukyan Interview

Did he have to reinvent the wheel at the American Top Team gym in South Florida to get his mojo back? Not necessarily.

“I don't think I really had to change anything,” he said. “We upped the sparring a little bit more just to get me a little more comfortable on the feet. When you get knocked out in 33 seconds, I don't really think there's a whole lot you can take from that. If Bobby and I had been fighting for 20 minutes or even five minutes, I think we could have taken a lot more from the loss. But anything can happen in the first 33 seconds. So it was just not getting myself down and moving on with it. I think my biggest weapon is that I can move on from adversity.”

Grant Dawson reacts after his victory against Joe Solecki in a lightweight fight during the UFC 302 event at Prudential Center on June 01, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Grant Dawson reacts after his victory against Joe Solecki in a lightweight fight during the UFC 302 event at Prudential Center on June 01, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

The first time Dawson lost was on the regional scene in 2016, when he got stopped by Hugh Pulley. His record from that fight to the Green loss: 11-0-1, with the only blemish a 2021 draw with Ricky Glenn. Add in a win on Dana White’s Contender Series and eight UFC victories, and it’s safe to say that Dawson does, in fact, move on from adversity. He showed it again in 2024, and though he doesn’t claim any big changes made in the last 12 months, he did display a greater discipline on fight night in the bouts with Solecki and Garcia.

“Yeah, I think that's one thing that could be attributed,” Dawson admits. “Staying a lot more safe and, honestly, opening up a little bit more when I do get the takedown has been a real big focus of ours because we get the guy tired. The more tired he is, the safer I'm going to be in rounds two, three, and someday four and five.”

Grant Dawson Earns Last-Second Knockout | UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs Holland
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Grant Dawson Earns Last-Second Knockout | UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs Holland
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If he beats the veteran Ferreira to kick off the New Year, we may be seeing him in some main events where rounds four and five will be in play. But the first order of business in Los Angeles is getting the job done against a fighter who enters the Intuit Dome on the heels of back-to-back Performance of the Night knockouts of Michael Johnson and Mateusz Rebecki but is also 39 years old and plagued with long layoffs throughout his career, leaving him with only three fights in the last three years. It’s got to be hard to get a read on the Brazilian, but Dawson is keeping it simple: he’s preparing for the best version of Ferreira.

RELATED: Dawson's Athlete Profile

“I think if you prepare for the best guy you could get, if the worst guy shows up, it's a good night,” said Dawson. “So I'm preparing for the best Diego. I've been really, really impressed with his last two, and, to be honest with you, I've always been impressed with Diego. I've always thought that he was a really, really good fighter and a very underrated fighter. He's not getting blown out of the water by really anybody; he's always in close fights, he's always at the top of the division and we see what happens when you don't put him at the top of the division. When you give him guys that aren't at that top tier, he runs through them. So I'm really excited to see how I stack up against him. And the main thing I'm really excited for is the new problem that I have to solve. He's got really good jiu-jitsu, he's got really good get-up, he's got really good cardio. I think these are new problems that I'm going to have to deal with in the later rounds and I'm really excited to see how I do.”

Order UFC 311: Makhachev vs Tsarukyan 2 Now

Come on, Grant, you don’t want the best version of Ferreira to show up on fight night?

“I'd be lying if I said I wanted the best guy,” he laughs. “I hope he has a really bad day, I hope his weight cut goes terrible. Any advantage that I can get leading up into this fight and on fight day, I will be thankful for.”

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That’s the honesty that has become Dawson’s trademark, and it’s one of the reasons why he’s a fighter to watch in 2025. As for January 18, he’s ready for a scrap, but wouldn’t mind an early finish in his favor. 

“I think we're all like that,” he said. “We know the wars are coming, we know the big bombs are coming. So anytime you can get an easier night in this sport, I'm going to take it.”

UFC 311: Makhachev vs Moicano took place live from Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on January 18, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!