When Grant Dawson made the move up to 155lbs, there was a bit of the expected and a bit of the unexpected. On one hand, he had missed weight at featherweight once and then proceeded to have a fight at a catchweight of 150lbs. However, he was also 3-0 in his original weight class (4-0 if you count Contender Series).
Dawson saw it as an obvious move though, having had a tough weight cut getting down to 150lbs for his fight with Nad Narimani. As a result, he returned to the weight class that he started his professional career at – but not without some reservations.
“We moved up and I was super worried about the size difference, but being at American Top Team, I’ve also put on a lot more size,” Dawson said. “I’m in a really great strength and conditioning program and I’m getting older. I’m 29-years old. I’m starting to hit my man-body.”
With all of that growth both from genetics and the gym, Dawson unfortunately was not able to shed one of his biggest issues with his old weight class – the weight cut.
“No, [the weight cuts] are about as equally as hard,” he said with a laugh. “It’s horrible, man. I’m so over all of it.”
Despite those cuts being a lot of work for the big-bodied Dawson, don’t expect to see another weight class change anytime soon. Lightweight, while tough to make, it the home for the forseeable future for the American Top Team product.
“If I go to 170, it’ll be because I’ve reached the journeyman status and the chance of a world championship is off the table. I don’t think that I can win a championship at 170,” he shared. “Leon Edwards, [Kamaru] Usman, Khamzat Chimaev – those guys are so big and so good at what they do, I don’t think my odds of winning a UFC championship go up if I make 170.”
Firmly in the rankings in this weight class, Dawson now gets his stiffest test to date. Damir Ismagulov is not only the ranked talent he was looking for, but he gets a co-main event spot to prove himself in. Not only that, but Dawson feels this matchup is one that plays right into his strengths.
“It’s going to be really hard for, not just him, but anybody to outgrind me. You have to be a really big finisher to threaten me,” Dawson said. “I just feel like he’s not the guy to do that.”
His fight will take place this Saturday on the ESPN+ main card, which starts at 7pm EST.
You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 2:19.
