Who Saw This Coming? T.J. Grant No Longer Guaranteed a Title Shot Upon November Return

(If you enjoy seeing someone immediately regret a decision they made on camera, it doesn’t get much better than this.)

For better or worse, we as a society have become completely incapable of accepting any information at face value. It’s why some of us simply can’t believe that, yes, if you drop your hands and clown around a little too much against a world class fighter, you might get knocked the fuck out even if you’re Anderson Silva. It’s also why some of us simply refuse to believe that T.J. Grant was actually injured when he pulled out of his title fight with Ben Henderson, despite all the evidence pointing to the contrary.

Well, conspiracy theory or not, the concussion Grant suffered while rolling will keep him out of action until at least November. Unfortunately for Grant, his stock will have plummeted so far by the time he returns that he will likely have to fight his way back to a title shot that he will never truly receive once again. That’s UFC politics, baby — greed, get the money, dollar, dollar bill, y’all.

During an appearance on yesterday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Grant spelled out what the future had in store for him and also detailed his decision to pull out of the fight. And again, he would like you to know that it was actually his decision to make:

I’m not scared to fight anyone. If I was healthy and I knew that I could get in shape, I would’ve [tried it.]. It’s a little scary. I wanted to kind of make the best decision for myself. I want to do what’s best for me.


(If you enjoy seeing someone immediately regret a decision they made on camera, it doesn’t get much better than this.)

For better or worse, we as a society have become completely incapable of accepting any information at face value. It’s why some of us simply can’t believe that, yes, if you drop your hands and clown around a little too much against a world class fighter, you might get knocked the fuck out even if you’re Anderson Silva. It’s also why some of us simply refuse to believe that T.J. Grant was actually injured when he pulled out of his title fight with Ben Henderson, despite all the evidence pointing to the contrary.

Well, conspiracy theory or not, the concussion Grant suffered while rolling will keep him out of action until at least November. Unfortunately for Grant, his stock will have plummeted so far by the time he returns that he will likely have to fight his way back to a title shot that he will never truly receive once again. That’s UFC politics, baby — greed, get the money, dollar, dollar bill, y’all.

During an appearance on yesterday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Grant spelled out what the future had in store for him and also detailed his decision to pull out of the fight. And again, he would like you to know that it was actually his decision to make:

I’m not scared to fight anyone. If I was healthy and I knew that I could get in shape, I would’ve [tried it.]. It’s a little scary. I wanted to kind of make the best decision for myself. I want to do what’s best for me. I want to fight for a long time. I want to live a long time. I want to enjoy my baby girl and all that stuff, so I thought about it a lot and talked to the UFC doctor and all the doctors here. The decision was 100 percent mine.

Additionally, Grant told Helwani that UFC matchmaker Joe Silva “never made any promises one way or the other” in regards to whether or not he would receive a title shot upon his return. However, Silva did tell Grant that “if [his next fight] was a step back, it would only be one step back.”

Oh, T.J., you ignorant slut. Ask Dan Henderson, Rashad Evans, or Lyoto Machida what it’s like to take a step back (and that’s just one division!). One day, you’re the top dog of the office, and the next, you’re fighting for the right to stay employed. It’s kind of like working at Walmart.

–J. Jones