It’s hard to believe that Davey Grant has fought in the UFC for nine years. With a 5-5 record over that time, Grant knows he could have made more of his peak years. Despite this, Grant insisted on The MMA Hour that quitting was never an option, even in the lean early years of his career where total derailment seemed all but certain.
“Obviously, I should have had like at least another 10 [fights] on top of that, but things were just so hard. I went through a rough couple of years where I was fighting like once a year, just injuries and surgeries and it wasn’t ideal. And I really feel like I’m just finding my feet now, and once I started the consistent fights, I feel like I’m putting in good performances as well, I’m finally showing everyone.
The Incident that Derailed Davey Grant, and how he came back
I’m just so comfortable now that I can go and fight all-out when I fight. I don’t feel like I have to try and play it safe, like I’m hunting for just getting wins. I want big fights and I want big finishes. That’s all I’m all about now.”
Grant, alumnus of The Ultimate Fighter, was one of British MMA’s most exciting prospects when he was set to appear at UFC London in 2013.
“The week of the fight, I got into the UFC hotel, the hotel where they booked me up, and then I blew my knee out, tore my meniscus, and I never managed to fight. I weighed in, actually, and then I had to tell the UFC.
So the scan results came back and I got pulled from the fight the night before. That was devastating, especially because it was a good fight for me and coming off The Ultimate Fighter, I still had a lot of momentum behind me, and it was in London.”
Then he tore “all the ligaments” in one of his ankles, and although the UFC paid for both surgeries, he sustained a neck injury while recovering. It wasn’t until 2016 that Davey Grant could make his mark in the UFC, but he never considered quitting.
“Honestly, it never crossed my mind, because I’d done all the hard work to get there. Like my dream was always to fight in the UFC. Well, my dream was to get on The Ultimate Fighter and then fight in the UFC, and I’d managed to do both […]
I always knew that once I got back there, I was going to start trying to make waves.” Grant hopes to fight once more at UFC London this July, perhaps to finally receive the hometown welcome he missed out on almost a decade ago.
What do you think of Davey Grant’s comeback story? Should he fight at UFC London this year? Let us know in the comments.