WICHITA, Kan. – Grant Dawson couldn’t restrain his excitement after scoring his first UFC win, but he’s also able to look at his performance from a critical perspective, as well.
Dawson (13-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) achieved his first octagon triumph on Saturday when he outworked Julian Erosa (22-7 MMA, 1-3 UFC) to a unanimous decision in a featherweight bout at UFC on ESPN+ 4, which took place at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan., and streamed on ESPN+.
It was a dominant performance from Dawson, but he said he’s capable of much better. The 23-year-old prospect sets high standards for himself, and he said he will go back to the gym to fix the flaws he displayed against Erosa.
“Obviously we wanted the finish but can’t get them all that way,” Dawson told MMAjunkie post-fight at UFC on ESPN+ 4. “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. M 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.”
After earning a UFC contract at Dana White’s Contender Series 6 in August 2017, Dawson’s career was put on hold due to a mishap with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
Dawson’s case has parallels to that of UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones with the “pulsing” effect brought on by a substance, and as a result Dawson was cleared to return to competition and was finally booked for UFC on ESPN+ 4.
According to Dawson, staying positive was crucial during the trying times in his career. He came out the other end and got his UFC win, and he said now he’s ready to keep the ball rolling.
“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.”
Dawson said he intends on spending a little time with his girlfriend and family to celebrate the win. That won’t last long, though, because he wants to get back in the gym soon and mentioned Shane Young (13-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) as an opponent of interest for him going forward.
“I’ve got a list of guys I want to fight,” Dawson said. “I won’t say anything right now. We’ll wait for the UFC to call. I would like to fight Shane Young. I think that would be a great fight. He comes forward, I come forward and it would be a great fight for both of us.”
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 4, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
