England’s Davey Grant opened up the UFC 251 card, taking on Martin Day in bantamweight action. It was a rare appearance for Grant, who despite having been with the promotion since 2013, had just five octagon appearances under his belt. Injury had derailed him time and again, but he was looking to build off a win over Grigorii Popov last year.
Day, who due to injuries of his own had not competed since a 2018 loss to Pingyuan Liu, was looking for his first win in the promotion. Grant opened things up with a leg kick, before soon following it up with another. Day fired back with a jab after eating a sidekick to the body from Grant. Grant connected with a nice shot to the body while Day struggled to find his range. Day cracked Grant with a big counter shot, dropping him, falling right into Grant’s full guard.
Grant let off an elbow from the bottom before Day let off one of his own. Grant eventually got back to his feet and ate a sidekick to the body from Day. Grant had a head kick just blocked but proceeded to eat an uppercut. Grant shot in for a takedown and was able to finish it, before posturing up and getting some nice ground-and-pound. A scramble from Day but Grant was able to maintain top position for some more shots to end the round.
Round two opened up with some nice shots to the body from Grant, before both men began to exchange shots inside the pocket. Grant connected with a front kick to the body but Day pressed forward, connecting with shots. Grant put together a beautiful combination, capped off by a flying knee. Day eats more big shots from Grant, and Grant is stepping up the pressure. More big combinations from Grant connect, and he adds in a nice takedown for good measure. After a scramble, Grant locks in an armbar attempt, but Day escapes and gets top position. Day ended the round with a big spinning back kick to the body, dropping Grant.
Round 3 started off with some big pressure from Day, who landed some hooks but ate some from Grant in response. A takedown attempt from Grant was defended nicely by Day, who made Grant pay with a hook. Day really began to put his shots together nicely, but Grant continued to fire right back with power blows of his own. Both men stayed inside the pocket exchanging big shots for several minutes before Grant connected with a huge counter shot that rendered Day unconscious.
Official Results: Davey Grant def. Martin Day via R3 KO (punch, 2:38)
