Grant Dawson, The Winningest Contender Nobody Knows About?

Grappling ace, Grant Dawson, will square off opposite crafty veteran, Bobby Green, this Saturday (Oct. 7, 2023) at UFC Vegas 80 inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Fight fans can be forgiven for being a touch unfamiliar with Dawson, despite his excellent nine-fight unbeaten streak inside the Octagon. Most of his wins took place inside the Apex and/or the undercard, and his win streak doesn’t have that one big name that really bursts off the page. It’s filled with very good competition, however, and Dawson’s dominance on the floor has been quite impressive. There have also been some rough moments for “KGD.” He’s gotten tired on occasion, and his kickboxing has been a work-in-progress throughout his six-year UFC career. It’s hard to get a read on just how good Dawson is, and perhaps this main event slot is the moment to find out one way or another.

Let’s take a closer look at his skill set:

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Striking

Though he can certainly be effective, I would not describe Grant Dawson as a particularly good kickboxer. His style is heavily reliant on the threat of the takedown, and fair enough, it’s a significant threat for all of his opponents. That said, the large absences in his fundamental form do pop up in striking exchanges that last for more than a few seconds.

Firstly though, let’s talk about the good stuff: Dawson can hit pretty hard. He does a lot of feinting at the legs and coming up with looping punches. He can apply that strategy from both stances, ducking low and coming up with a Orthodox left hook or right overhand or Southpaw overhand. If he notices his opponent dropping level in response to the takedown feint, he’ll feint low then step up into a knee.

Dawson kicks well too. In this regard, his grappling excellence is a huge help, as Dawson kicks with zero fear of being taken down. He really lets ‘em rip! Specifically, Dawson does his best work to the lead calf with his right low kick, which crippled Mark Madsen in about a minute in the third round of their fight last year (GIF). He also has a nice right front kick and solid switch left kick to the body.

Thanks to his takedown threat and ability to punch and kick with power, Dawson has been able to compete on the feet with men who would torch him in a kickboxing match.

Still, the holes are apparent. Dawson’s defense is not good. Madsen is a pretty basic striker, and he dropped Dawson with his first combination of the fight (double jab-cross), because Dawson backed straight up and didn’t move his head at all — a common response. His overall punching from can leave a lot to be desired as well, and he usually attacks with single shots.

Here’s an example of a reach-y arm punch of a left hook that could’ve gotten him clobbered had Madsen stood his ground and fired back:

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Wrestling

Dawson is a tremendously determined chain wrestler who can turn just about the worst entry into a successful high-crotch takedown. His ability to hold onto a sweaty foot sans-wrestling shoe is downright remarkable. In fact, it’s nearly unexplainable. Time and time again, opponents beat Dawson’s posture, push his head down below their feet, and turn to limp leg — the best way to escape a single leg shot in MMA — and he inexplicably holds on anyway.

For Dawson, his shots always start with the outside single or high-crotch takedown. Having his head on the outside of the hip rather than inside, beneath his opponent’s chest is key. The head outside positioning opens up the option of cutting an angle towards his opponent’s back, which can happen at any point during the wrestling transitions.

Perhaps the biggest key for Dawson is that he forces his opponent to move constantly. Dawson does not snatch up the leg and then wait. Immediately, he’s trying to run the pipe and dump his opponent to their butt. Sometimes, that works right away! If not, he has lots of other options, like reaching across to catch the far leg and attack the double. If that double off fails, he’ll go back to trying to dump or possibly elevate the caught leg a bit. Sometimes, Dawson will threaten the dump then catch a body lock as his opponent hops to maintain their balance, allowing an easy lift and slam.

As mentioned, the most common reaction to single leg shots in MMA is framing the head and limp legging away. Since Dawson is so good at hanging onto the foot/lower calf, he’ll continue trying to dump his opponent from that position, and he finds good success from that positioning. Alternatively, if his foe turns away and thinks they’re free of his grasp — because, by all rights, they should be — Dawson will come up into the back body lock.

Dogged determination and a high work rate have made Dawson one of Lightweight’s most effective wrestlers.

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

With Grant Dawson, his grappling is all about taking the back. He’s won 13 fights via submission, and a large majority came via rear naked choke.

Dawson is able to take the back so often because his top pressure is really excellent. Immediately after finishing a takedown, he starts working to triangle the legs. If his opponent hangs out in that position, Dawson will apply heavy shoulder pressure and a tight hold on the waist to inch his way up into mount. A few punches later, and he’s usually on the back. The other alternative for fighters facing the leg triangle is to turn away themselves rather than give up mount, and once more, his hooks are in.

An important detail about Dawson’s back-taking is that he throws his hooks deep. Often, we see fighters sneak the near hook in, but that leg ends up resting between their opponent’s knees and doesn’t offer much control until the second hook comes into play — this is how fighters fall off the top and end up on bottom. Instead, Dawson shoots his entire leg across the body, meaning his shin bone is across the waist like a belt. Even before he locks in a body triangle, that one leg is offering a solid measure of control.

Speaking of the body triangle, it might as well be Dawson’s signature move. He is second only to Aljamain Sterling in being the best at controlling opponents from that position in the sport right now. Rounds go by with Dawson in that position, and his opponents just do not find any success in breaking the lock. This allows him to focus on hunting the neck, and it’s usually the position he finds the finish.

There are, however, a couple disadvantages to the body triangle that bear mentioning. For one, the body triangle completely takes the legs out of the equation in terms of offense. From that position, the attacking fighter cannot really work to trap an arm or transition to the armbar or triangle choke. The only offense available is short strikes and the rear naked choke, which high-level fighters are generally well prepared to defend.

The other issue is that holding the triangle for long periods of time is exhausting. Grant’s body triangle is difficult to remove because he’s flexing his quads and hamstrings. Those are large muscles, and after a full round of holding that position, it’s not uncommon to see a fighter look a bit unstable on his feet. Jelly legs is a real thing, and it can be a big problem when the fight restarts standing just 60 seconds later.

Dawson has had difficulty down the stretch in fights previously, most notably against Rick Glenn, who savaged him in the third round to score a 10-8 round and ultimately a draw. A high-activity wrestling style combined with the pressures of constantly squeezing the body triangle make for a draining style, and Dawson will have to make it work five rounds if he doesn’t find an early finish.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Conclusion

Dawson is not a perfect fighter, but he’s an expert in his craft who has put together a great win streak. He deserves the main event spotlight, and though Green isn’t a remarkable step up in competition, he’s still a genuine challenge that could bring the best out of Dawson or expose his weaknesses.

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Andrew Richardson, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, is a professional fighter who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California. In addition to learning alongside world-class talent, Andrew has scouted opponents and developed winning strategies for several of the sport’s most elite fighters.

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