Fresh off his seventh straight victory, Grant Dawson wants to keep his momentum going but doesn’t see that happening at featherweight.
“I need like 12 weeks to make 145 pounds and I just don’t want to be that type of fighter,” Dawson told MMANews. “I don’t want to be the fighter that has to fight once a year or twice a year, because he can’t make the weight class.”
Grant Dawson (15-1) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Nad Narimani at UFC Fight Island 2 in a 150-pound catchweight bout. The 26-year-old missed weight in the fight prior against Darrick Minner, coming in 3.5 pounds over the 146-pound limit.
The Contender Series winner doesn’t want to waste time trying to make 145 pounds for his next fight and sees himself competing at lightweight.
“For the longest time, I just thought there was something wrong with me, that I needed so much time to make the weight,” Dawson explained. “Then my coach and my nutritionist were like, ‘There’s nothing wrong with a boy your age being as big as you are. You’re just a big guy.’ So we’re going to give 155 a try a good honest try. In fact, I’m considering myself at 155 pounds right now.”
The Glory MMA product ideally would like to compete in the Fall and has an opponent in mind for his lightweight debut.
“Austin Hubbard is coming off a pretty big win, he’s got four fights in the UFC, he’s around my size, he’s somebody I’m interested in fighting,” Dawson said. “Also what’s an interesting note about him is that he’s fought two really good grapplers and neither of them could finish him. So my goal is to go out there and finish him. If I get a finish over him I think that shows how good my submission game is.”
