Grant Dawson is well familiar with his UFC Vegas 76 opponent Damir Ismagulov.
Dawson comes out beating Mark O. Madsen back in November and since then, he’s been trying to put up a fight. However, Dawson says multiple top 15 Opponents turned him down, which was frustrating because he wanted to be more active.
“Man, it’s so frustrating. I fought for the first time in the UFC two months after that fight and it was the fastest turnaround I’ve ever had in the UFC,” Dawson said on Just Scrap radio on BJPENN.com. “It was just a nine-month layoff after a nine-month layoff. The last time I fought, I wasn’t a married man, that’s how long it’s been… I think part of it is compatibility, the UFC can find some bums to fight me, but they They don’t want to see me rip through someone else and I want you to test me to see if I’m up to the heroic level I say I go in Damir I think anyone who can beat Damir is heroic stuff I can’t just beat this guy but I have to show To people I am the stuff of heroism.”
Once Ismagulov accepted the fight against Dawson, he added an interesting wrinkle to the fight. Damir Ismagulov has spent time on the American Top Team in the past, and Grant Dawson says the two have fought and rolled with each other.
“He was only there for three weeks and he actually came for his fight with Joram. I rolled with him, I didn’t fight with him because I’m a wrestler and Joram is an attacker,” Dawson said. “So I rolled a bunch with him for that fight, and he came for Arman, and I went little more. We had a fight once and we wore big gloves so I don’t think you can take a lot out of it. But the point I’m trying to make is that there are no secrets in this fight. We both know what the other person is trying to do.”
With the two being familiar with each other, Grant Dawson says it adds to the fight. However, he still knows Damir Ismagulov is tough for anyone, but he believes that beating Ismagulov will show the UFC and the lightweight division that he is a legitimate contender for the title.
“He’s 24-2 for a reason,” Dawson said. “He’s a championship-level fighter. You could put him up there with Islam Mokhashef, so will he beat Islam? Probably not, but he won’t run. He’s one of those things. A good performance is all I care about. I don’t care about the finish, I don’t care about 50G and I don’t care.” About Fight of the Night, I only care about winning and doing well.”
If Grant Dawson raises his hand at UFC Vegas 76, he’s not sure who will be next because he thinks people will continue to reject him. But he thinks the way the division is going, he’s open to getting a recognizable name in the very near future.
“I think the division is opening up a little bit. I just had a fight between Oliveira and Neil, so Penel is wide open, he’ll fight anyone. I’ve got Dustin and Gaethje, maybe the winner gets a title shot and the loser has to fight someone. I think Dustin’s going to win , so Gaethje is another option.Dawson concludes with the oath at last where the top five players will never fight each other back-to-back again.