Norfolk, VA — Heading into UFC Norfolk, Grant Dawson was vocal about short-notice opponent Darrick Minner not belonging in the UFC.
Then, Dawson missed weight, while his opponent hit the mark on just eight days notice.
So while Dawson was happy with his performance as a whole, he had a different take on things after the fight. He also offered no excuses for his flub at the scale.
“Good performance. I think I dominated from bell to bell like I had to,” Dawson said post-fight, breaking down his performance for Cageside Press and other media outlets. “There was a lot of nerves going into this fight. I know he’s dangerous in the first round. I knew he was going to come out hot. He had nothing to lose. I was the prospect, he was the guy who shouldn’t be there, and I needed to prove why I was such a big favorite.”
Dawson did get the submission win in the second round. But of course, his pre-fight comments and missing weight became the story.
On Minner, he changed his tune somewhat after the fact. “I think he deserves another shot. I think they should give him another fight, absolutely.”
He also congratulated his opponent after all was said and done. “I said he doesn’t belong here, then he took a fight on eight days notice and made weight,” observed Dawson. “So he absolutely deserves another shot. I just said congratulations on making it. I think he’ll get another shot, I think he’ll do well.”
As for what caused him issues this past Friday at the UFC Norfolk weigh-in, “I can’t tell you what happened because there’s no excuses,” Dawson said. “There is no excuse for missing weight. There’s nothing I can tell you, that there was a reason. All I know is, it’s a one time thing, it’s the first and only time. It will not happen again, and we’ll move on from here. That’s it.”
And so it’s time for Grant Dawson to move forward. He intends to remain at featherweight, and had one name in mind for his next opponent: “Darren Elkins.”
It’s an interesting choice. Dawson had been booked, several times, against Chas Skelly, a fight that continually fell through. Elkins, however, “he’s been around forever, people know who he is, he’s a tough opponent, he’s a wrestler like myself,” said Dawson. “He can push me in ways that people haven’t. I was really really excited for the Chas Skelly fight. I think very very highly of Chas, I think that he’s a great human being and a great fighter. So I was really excited to show that. Darren beat Chas by playing Chas’ game, so let’s just jump over Chas and go right to Darren.”
Watch the full UFC Norfolk post-fight press scrum with Grant Dawson above!
