FIGHT ISLAND — Davey Grant lived up to his 'Dangerous' nickname Saturday, as the Englishman recovered from what he said was a broken jaw in the first round, to deliver a knockout so horrific, his opponent lay motionless on the canvas.
It was all going Day's way in the first round when he dropped Grant with a thud, banking the opener, before surrendering the momentum in round two, and losing by knockout in the third.
Grant celebrated raucously around the inside of the Octagon but saw the state he had left Day in, and so he knelt down in front of his opponent to check he was regaining reconciousness. And he was.
Grant told the UFC president Dana White through the fence that he had suffered an injury in the first round, and as he strutted past press row, he told assembled reporters that he had broken his jaw.
Watch the brutal KO here:
OUT COLD ????
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 11, 2020
Third-round KO for @DaveyGrantMMA at #UFC251 pic.twitter.com/cBmlxeKdfS
A camera deployed on the commentary booth caught Bisping's reaction:
We love the @Bisping cam! ???? #UFC251 pic.twitter.com/X6dx4AogPg
— UFC (@ufc) July 11, 2020
With the victory, Grant advanced his record to 12 wins (two knockouts, eight submissions, and two decisions) against four losses.
"I knew what he was coming for and I knew what I wanted," Grant said. "I thought I'm going to try and be technical in the first two rounds. I thought if it was all working, I'd go to town and then have a war."
The highlight-reel finish from Grant was a brilliant way to open the UFC's grand "Fight Island" festival, as it begins a four-event and two-week residency in a quarantined area on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, starting Saturday, July 11 with UFC 251 at a purpose-built, behind-closed doors venue called the Flash Forum.
"I wanted the first fight on UFC: Fight Island to be a good war," Grant said. "I think we gave them that."
He went on: "I knew that if I could get inside (I could knock him out). I knew he has really good kicks and good hands.
"He dropped me in the first and I didn't know where I was at," Grant said. "I thought I'm still going to stand and trade with him.
"I wanted a fight like this in the UFC. I feel like I've been a bit cautious. I wanted to stand in the pocket and bang—that's how you get the knockout."
UFC 251, one of the UFC's most significant events of 2020, has three title fights on the card and is headlined by the UFC welterweight championship bout between the reigning champion Kamaru Usman and the challenger Jorge Masvidal.
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