Athletes
Grant Dawson's Chase For The Lightweight Rankings
Grant Dawson Believes A Win Over Mark Madsen At UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs Lemos Is Enough To Break Him Into The Top 15
These days, it’s a numbers game for Grant Dawson.
5 – The day of this month he will face Mark Madsen in Las Vegas.
20 – The day of his wedding to his lady, Elle.
10 – The number of fights he’s gone unbeaten in heading into this weekend’s bout.
But perhaps the most important number for “KGD” has been an elusive one: a Top 15 ranking in the lightweight division. Dawson hopes to hit that mark with a win over the unbeaten Madsen, and while some fighters dismiss the rankings, others, like Dawson, see the value in having that number next to his name.
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“If you just want to make money and you want to fight, I don't think rankings really matter that much; I think big fights and win streaks are more important,” he said. “If you want to become a world champion like I do, it has been done before, but there are very, very few people that get title shots that aren't ranked in the Top 15, at least. So, if I want to become a world champion someday, I have to get ranked in the Top 15, then the Top 10, then the Top 5, and then champion. It's definitely really important to me to get ranked and move my career forward, but I can see how it wouldn't be as important to other people that aren't necessarily striving for what I am.”
Dawson is on the right path to reaching his goals, even with the lightweight Top 15 being a tough club to get into. In his defense, his first four UFC fights took place below the 155-pound limit, but since moving up to the division now ruled by Islam Makhachev, a draw with Ricky Glenn was sandwiched by a knockout of Leonardo Santos and a submission of Jared Gordon. And while he was always scheduled to compete this weekend, finding a dance partner proved troublesome.
“I was scheduled to fight on November 5th for the last ten weeks,” said Dawson. “I've been in camp for the last eight weeks, I've gone through six different opponents that I've all said yes to, and who are now all matched up against different people. I was very worried that I wasn't gonna get to fight before my wedding November 20th, and I was thinking that I wasn't gonna get to fight again this year, even. And then the Mark Madsen fight (with Drakkar Klose) fell through.”
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Dawson immediately stepped up, and while fighting on the original date of Madsen-Klose, October 29, wasn’t going to work for Dawson weight-wise, this Saturday was a go, and we’ve got a fight.
“Everything has worked out perfectly in my favor,” he said. “It's definitely somebody that is very tough and is going to get me ranked after I beat him, I believe, and I am definitely looking forward to this challenge.”
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Grant Dawson Earns Last-Second Knockout | UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs Holland
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Perfect as a pro, with four of his 12 wins coming in the UFC, Madsen is a test for anyone, especially considering his status as a three-time Danish Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling who secured a Silver medal in the 2016 Games. And though Dawson is seeking the win primarily to keep his career moving in the right direction, there is a little added incentive to put a “1” in Madsen’s loss column for the first time.
“I think that there's a little bit of being able to set a blueprint,” he admits. “It is kind of nice being able to say, ‘Hey, I figured this out when the rest of you guys couldn't.’ Because when you do lose, unless you get knocked out in 10 seconds, or take (Kamaru) Usman, for example, getting knocked out by Leon Edwards. We didn't really learn anything on how to beat Usman. When you can beat somebody and take their "0" with a decision or a submission or something like that, you kind of open up a, ‘Hey, this is the blueprint, this is how people are gonna beat him moving forward.’ And then, if they can, it makes you look even better.”
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It might even get Dawson a number by his name and open up more opportunities where peers are willing to fight him.
“I don't think that anybody's necessarily afraid of me,” Dawson said. “I think that I'm more frustrated that I'm not ranked yet because I think that people are not fighting me, not because they're afraid of me, but because they know that I'm really good and I don't bring any big value if they beat me. I'm not ranked yet - I should be ranked, I've got seven fights with the UFC and I haven't lost any of them. I think I should be in the Top 15 and I think once I get into the Top 15 after this fight, I think that we'll be able to get more matchups because there's more reward next to my name if you do beat me.”
UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs Lemos took place live from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 5, 2022. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
