Rather than seeking a rematch, Grant
Dawson is looking to get over his loss against Bobby Green
by beating an opponent that recently beat “King.”
Advertisement
Dawson bounced back from a knockout loss against Green with a
dominant unanimous decision win over Joe Solecki
at UFC 302
on Saturday. Dawson then called out Jalin
Turner, who knocked out Green in December 2023.
“I want get back into the Top 15 by the end of this year, so I’d
like to fight Jalin Turner,” Dawson said during a post-fight media scrum. “I don’t think Jalin
Turner is gonna want to fight me, especially after a performance
like that… He beat the guy that beat me. And there’s an easy way to
get over Bobby without actually having to fight Bobby again, is
beat the guy that beat him.”
Dawson was a considerable favorite going into the first UFC
headliner of his career against Green in October 2023. Green
knocked out Dawson in 33 seconds at UFC Fight Night 229, handing
“KGD” the first loss of his UFC career. Dawson believes he could
have outwrestled Green like he did Solecki on Saturday night. But
instead of making excuses for his loss, Dawson admits Green just
outclassed him in a game of inches.
“I think I could have done that to Bobby,” Dawson said. “Everybody
asked me, ‘Hey, was it the pressure? Did Bobby get into your head?’
None of that’s true. I wish I could tell you I had a bad weight cut
for that fight. I wish I could tell you that something… Dude I made
a read, he made a read. His was right, mine was wrong. This is a
game of inches. So we came out here, and we wanted to make sure
that we’re super sharp as we could be and take the fight where it’s
the easiest.”
Dawson is currently 9-1-1 in the UFC, a record which includes five
finishes. Turner is fresh off a TKO loss against Renato
Carneiro from UFC 300 in April and 1-3 in his last four.
Meanwhile, Green is slated to take on Paddy
Pimblett at UFC 304 on July 27 in Manchester.