Chris Holdsworth: Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Team Alpha Male standout and ultimate fighter winner.
Not bad for a 26-year-old fighter with just four fights on his record coming in to the show, eh?
After holding his own on the feet against Grant in Round 1 at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale, Holdsworth found himself in top position early in Round 2, and he quickly went to work, cinching up the fight-ending rear-naked choke midway through the round.
Oh, and he won a free Harley!
Party on, Chris.
What we’ll remember about this fight
Holdsworth‘s striking left the biggest impression on me in this fight.
Showcasing the results of his training with Duane “Bang” Ludwig at Team Alpha Male, Holdsworth displayed some nice kicks and stiff straight punches against Grant early in the fight, wobbling his foe in the early going.
Many felt Grant would enjoy a significant advantage in the stand-up portion of this fight, but that was simply not the case.
An esteemed BJJ black belt, Holdsworth can go far in the division if his striking continues to grow and evolve under Ludwig’s direction.
What we learned about Grant
Grant still has some growing to do.
We were cheated of his final fight in the house against Anthony Gutierrez after Gutierrez missed weight, so many questions circulated.
How could he deal with somebody on top of him? What would he do when his grit and determination wasn’t enough?
Against Holdsworth, we learned that he would tap out.
The 135-pound Brit seems like a class act and a great representative of the sport, but his ground game needs some serious work if he hopes to compete with the absolute killers who inhabit the UFC’s bantamweight division.
What we learned about Holdsworth
See: What we’ll remember about this fight.
Holdsworth‘s striking is coming around. Look out, bantamweight division.
What’s next for Grant?
Grant needs a low-level bantamweight in his Octagon return.
Dustin Pague, another former The Ultimate Fighter contestant, is still around despite a four-fight losing streak.
That sounds perfect to me.
What’s next for Holdsworth?
I think Holdsworth needs a proven-but-declining veteran like Ivan Menjivar or Brian Bowles next.
Let’s see if he’s ready to start working for the title right now, or if he needs to log some more hours with Urijah Faber and company first.
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