Lightweight grappling standouts Grant Dawson and Rafa Garcia will fight on October 12, 2024 in a three-round affair. Though the location and venue are to be announced, this fight will go down on the main card.
News of the bout was first broken by Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes on Tuesday.
Grant Dawson (21-2-1) returned to his winning ways in his most recent fight. The 30-year-old won a unanimous decision against Joe Solecki at UFC 302 in June. The win brought the 2017 Contender Series alum to a record of 9-1-1 under the UFC’s banner. Dawson embarked on a 9-fight unbeaten streak with the promotional giant and although he missed weight a couple of times, was on a real tear. But last October, Grant was stopped in just over 30 seconds by the veteran King Green (currently #15 ranked UFC LW), in what was his first UFC main event.
Rafa Garcia (16-3) is on a two-fight win streak having secured a pair of unanimous decision victories over Maheshate Hayisaer and most recently, Clay Guida, back in March. The former Combate Americas lightweight champ is 4-3 in the UFC, since debuting as an undefeated fighter in 2021. Garcia has dropped unanimous decisions to Nasrat Haqparast, Chris Gruetzemacher and Drakkar Klose. Rafa has won four of his last five fights. And this will be just his second main card appearance with the UFC.
Garcia and Dawson are the first fighters to be announced for the UFC card on October 12.
