LONDON – Mike Grundy had seen what it’s like to make the walk for a UFC fight, so he thought he knew what to expect.
Grundy, a teammate of UFC standout and recent welterweight title challenger Darren Till, had walked out behind Till in the past. He’d heard the crowd going wild for him. But it may have been safe to assume Grundy might have some of the famed octagon jitters when it was time to do it himself.
Instead, though, Grundy said it almost seemed like old hat.
“I felt comfortable,” Grundy said after UFC on ESPN+ 5 this past Saturday. “I felt like I belong here, and I performed like I belong here. I think octagon jitters are just a mindset, and I’ve got a strong mindset.”
Grundy (12-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) opened the card with a second-round TKO of Nad Narimani (12-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at The O2 in London on a card streamed on ESPN+.
Narimani was on a two-fight winning streak in the UFC and had never been finished. And Grundy had to survive a first-round knockdown to rally and come back to finish Narimani in the middle frame.
“I felt fine,” Grundy said. “Obviously I got straight back up. The grinder I am, the wrestler I am … I knew I was going to come back. It felt like it was maybe a flash knockdown.”
But almost just as important as getting the win in his UFC debut for Grundy was the fact he did it after a long layoff. He hadn’t fought since November 2017. A fight set for Pancrase this past fall fell through when Grundy pulled out with an injury.
He also picked up his first career TKO to add to a resume that included eight submission wins coming in to the card.
“It was obviously a big deal to me – it’s been a long time coming,” Grundy said. “I’ve not even fought in 16 months. So to come out to the UFC now, and fight after 16 months, and put on my first TKO, and put on a performance for the fans, was nice.”
To hear more from Grundy, check out the video above.
And for complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 5, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
