He’s also been on site before, having earned a Performance of the Night bonus for his third-round knockout of Martin Day on UFC Fight Island in July of 2020. Add it all up, and while Blackshear is nine years younger than the Brit and on a three-fight winning streak, Grant has some intangibles on his side heading into Saturday’s matchup. Another one of those is the fact that Grant has been itching for a fight since April, when his scheduled bout with Daniel Santos was pulled on weigh-in day when the Brazilian suffered issues with his weight cut.
“Yeah, it was a shame,” said Grant, whose last Octagon appearance was a decision win over Ramon Taveras in December of last year. “Definitely a strange one. But it is what it is. I’ve got no control over these things. You just never want to see anyone not make the fight due to medical issues or whatever happened. It’s not ideal, but these things happen in fighting. There’s so many twists and turns.”
MORE UFC ABU DHABI: Tabatha Ricci Returns | Amanda Ribas Interview | Rising Stars | Petr Yan’s Ambition | Marcus McGhee Interview
Grant has navigated those twists and turns better than most. It explains why he’s the last male fighter remaining on the UFC roster from The Ultimate Fighter season 18, as well as a relevant figure in one of the toughest divisions in the game. And through it all, he’s remained a pro and a gentleman. How has he pulled that off?
“I think it must just be lots of practice,” laughs the married father of three. “But when people are not involved in the sport, they don’t understand the high and lows that come with it. It’s one of the craziest things, and I absolutely love it. I love the ups, I love the downs, and you can’t have one without the other. If it’s someone’s up, it’s usually someone else’s down. It’s the nature of the beast. And that’s why the fans love it, and the fighters probably hate it. (Laughs) We’ve got a love/hate relationship with it.”
