Grant Dawson, who fought for several major regional promotions around the Midwest before getting his big break on Dana White’s Contender Series, scored his first UFC victory this past weekend.
The Stromsburg, Nebraska native improved to 13-1 with a decision victory over Julian Erosa at UFC Fight Night 146. The win was his fourth consecutive since a loss to Hugh Pulley back in 2016.
For Dawson, the victory was important – but left him still wanting more out of his own performance, as he told MMAjunkie.
“Obviously we wanted the finish but can’t get them all that way,” Dawson said. “Dominant performance, I got one 10-8 round I believe. Super happy. First fight in the UFC, goal was just to get the win. We got it and we’ll go back to the drawing board and see what’s next.
“I made some mistakes, he made some mistakes and that’s how we grow. My coaches were telling me, ‘You make mistakes or otherwise you would be world champion already.’ We make mistakes, we fix them and we go back to the drawing board.”
This was Dawson’s first fight since 2017 when he bested Adrian Diaz via second round submission with UFC president Dana White watching. He fought five times in 2016 and five times in 2015.
“Let’s get after it,” Dawson said. “I’ve had 14 months off, I’m ready to go again. My jaw hurts a little bit but I just got punched in the face.”