Grant Dawson vs. Ricky Glenn might not have been your first pick for a UFC co-main event. But at UFC Vegas 41, the lightweight pair found themselves in the co-feature spot, with both fighters coming off recent wins.
The difference was, Dawson was undefeated in his UFC career to date, which Glenn had been trading wins and losses recently.
After 15 minutes of what ended up being a ground war, the judges came back with a majority draw decision. One judge had it 29-28, and the other two 28-28.
For the first two rounds it seemed as though Dawson was going to be able to grind out a decision win with his wrestling being his main weapon. However a 10-8 round in favor of Glenn in the third after what was a dominating round for him ended the fight in a draw.
The play-by-play is available below.
Round 1: Glenn came out early with leg kicks that Dawson barely even acknowledged before landing some of his own. Glenn continued with calf kicks and then landed a nasty one. Dawson had enough, shot the takedown, Glenn scrambled before Dawson adjusted and got Glenn on his back.
Dawson worked side control with Glenn using his left leg to try and stop Dawson from passing. Dawson was content to land ground and pound from side control, but Glenn continued to block the mount entry. Dawson worked the knees to the body since Glenn was pushed up against the cage stopping any mount attacks. Dawson tried to pin Glenn’s left arm with his right knee before Glenn gave up his back and Dawson happily took it.
Both hooks in and Dawson began the slow process of softening Glenn up for the rear-naked choke. Glenn defended well enough but Dawson knew how to switch sides and attack from the other. The body triangle was in for Dawson and Glenn ate shots to the head from the position. Any time that Dawson attacked the chin Glenn was able to defend 2 on 1 and stop it. A quick scramble attempt was stopped by Dawson and he retained the back with the body triangle. Glenn gator rolled repeatedly looking for an out from the body triangle, which is exhausting to deal with in itself, and Dawson was happy to keep the position.
Constant rolls to try and get Dawson off his back were unsuccessful but Glenn managed to survive the first round.
Round 2: Glenn looked for the body kick early which Dawson was able to block mostly before shooting and getting Glenn down momentarily. Glenn was able to roll and get Dawson off him twice and both ended up going back to the striking. Dawson shot the single leg which Glenn stuffed. Dawson attacked the single leg with a trip but Glenn was wise to it. Dawson picked Glenn off the canvas and then attempted a trip takedown in midair.
Knees to the body of Glenn followed before Dawson dumped him on his back and got side control. Dawson stayed heavy on Glenn in side control landing knees to the body and short right hands to the face. Glenn defended well and got his full guard established. Dawson stayed heavy on top of Glenn with pressure. Glenn continued to try and find his way to a shrimp escape position but Dawson stayed on top landing short shots before attempting to advance, getting to side control again.
Right hands landed for Dawson but they didn’t pack much power due to the position. Glenn defended from the mount with the left knee up on Dawson’s hip. Dawson continued to land right knees to the body. Dawson tried to step over to mount while landing shots, but Glenn was able to stop him at quarter guard. Round ended with Dawson landing short shots from top.
Round 3: Leg kicks continued for Glenn which Dawson ate before shooting twice. Both were stuffed with one allowing for a knee for Glenn. Dawson shot, got stuffed and Glenn ended up on top with Dawson looking for a leg entry which Glenn avoided. Glenn landed shots to the body of Dawson before Dawson was able to get back to the feet and shoot at the same time but got stopped again. Glenn ended up on top of Dawson in half guard landing damage from top. Dawson tried to get out of the position with an over hook over the head but Glenn shed it. Glenn attacked a head-and-arm choke but he wasn’t on the right side of the body to finish it. He tried to muscle it by squeezing and putting pressure on Dawson but Grant was able to defend well.
Glenn tried to posture to land shots with Dawson continuing to defend the position. Glenn got his body to the right side for a second but Dawson was quick with the defense and got back to full guard. Glenn tried to slice with his left knee but was stopped all while trying to land ground-and-pound. Glenn got to the crucifix position and rained down elbows and hammer fists to the face of Dawson. Glenn needed a finish at this point still so he stayed aggressive.
A late submission attempt for Glenn, but Dawson is giving thumbs up til the end 👍👍👍 #UFCVegas41 pic.twitter.com/PQ0uuzKH82
— UFC (@ufc) October 23, 2021
Glenn remained on top landing short shots, hammer fists and elbows. He hurt Dawson for a second and Glenn got in a d’arce choke attempt but the fight ended.
After the buzzer, Glenn pointed at Dawson saying he believed Dawson was out and that he needed to get up. Dawson did get to his feet.
Official Result: Grant Dawson vs. Ricky Glenn ended in a majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28
