by 
Grant Dawson has no problems fighting his way to the top of the lightweight division, but if he can avoid the longest possible route to UFC gold, he would definitely take it.
Dawson (22-2-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) looks to continue his rise up the division when he takes on Diego Ferreira (19-5 MMA, 10-5) at UFC 311 (pay-per-view, ESPNews). UFC, ESPN+) on January 18th at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
There were times during Dawson’s UFC career when he felt his growth had been stunted by a lack of activity. However, the fight with Ferreira will be his third contest since June and if Dawson can maintain this pace into 2025, he believes it would be hugely significant for his career.
“I wanted to stay active, I begged to stay active and I have never been inactive because of anything with me,” Dawson told MMA Junkie Radio. “And it’s not the UFC’s fault. (Matchmaker) Sean Shelby does a great job, but I’m a guy that not a lot of people want to fight. I’m a high-risk, low-reward guy when you fight me.” I think that’s why I’ve been on the bench for so long. I’ll be able to fight three fights in 2025. “
With just one loss in a dozen Octagon appearances, the 30-year-old Dawson has been an effective winner on the sport’s biggest stage. His only blemish was a 33-second knockout loss to Bobby Green in his only headlining contest in October 2023, but Dawson bounced back with consecutive wins.
There was also criticism of Dawson’s style at times, but he said working on his tension was a priority. He wants to follow in the footsteps of some of the sport’s greats as he moves forward, and if he can do that, Dawson believes it won’t be long before he’s in the biggest fights with the biggest stakes.
“Georges St-Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov, when they both started their careers and broke through, they were kind of overlooked because they’re not that exciting, they put people down and do that,” Dawson said. “But at the end of their careers everyone thought they were just the greatest fighters of all time, and rightly so. That’s kind of my way of thinking. I want to stay true to myself, but I’m trying to get more placings. “I’m trying to be more exciting on the ground so I can progress a little faster and not go down the Belal-Muhammad route.
For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s UFC 311 event hub.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 311’s Grant Dawson hopes to avoid ‘Belal Muhammad’s path’ to title
