PRAGUE – From facing hostile crowds to enduring long flights ahead of already-difficult weight cuts, there are some challenges a fighter faces when competing overseas.
But Dwight Grant didn’t really mind going all the way to the Czech Republic to meet Italy’s Carlo Pedersoli Jr. on the preliminary card of this past Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 3 event. If anything, he had a little extra motivation to walk away victorious.
“I think that having all that time on the plane thinking about what I’m going to do, and then being worried about going back with a loss – you don’t want to take a long plane ride back home after a loss, I’m telling you right now,” Grant told reporters backstage at O2 Arena in Prague.
Thankfully for Grant (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC), he didn’t have to. After rocking Pedersoli Jr. (11-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) with a massive right hand that sent his mouthpiece flying, Grant followed up with the punches that sealed the deal in rather timely fashion – when the ref stepped in to stop the contest, there was only one second left in the first round.
Pedersoli Jr. clearly wasn’t happy with the stoppage, as one could tell by his immediate reaction. And Grant can understand – and respect – that his opponent believed he could continue. Still, from where Grant was standing, there was nothing controversial about the stoppage.
“I just know that, when I knocked him down, he was out,” Grant said. “When he hit the ground, I almost didn’t follow up, I was like ‘This is over.’ But then I said, ‘Wait a minute,’ because I’ve been there before and things didn’t work out. So I followed up, and then I sort of felt him go limp again, and then I was like, ‘OK, they stopped it.’ And it was done.
“I was surprised to hear there was any kind of confusion. When I saw the replay for it, I was like, ‘There’s no way that (there is) any confusion.’ But I respect the guy’s heart. Not even to be condescending or anything like that. Honestly, I respect his heart. I respect that fact that he wanted to continue the fight. Like any true fighter would. And, for that, I commend him.”
Fact is, Grant won. Not only that – he got to add an extra $50,000 to his bank account, as one of the night’s “Performance of the Night” bonus winners. All in all, it was not a bad way to erase the sour taste left by a split-decision loss to Zak Ottow on his UFC debut.
But it’s just the beginning for Grant, who’d been ready to seek redemption from the moment he left the octagon last time around.
“I was ready to fight the moment I landed back in San Jose,” Grant said. “So this, to me, was something that had to happen this particular way, for me to feel somewhat satisfied. I’m still not satisfied. I’m still upset and I want more fights to prove that I belong here. That’s the most important thing to me right now.”
To hear from Grant, check out the video above.
And for complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 3, check out the UFC Eventssection of the site.
