Canadian lightweight TJ Grant may not be a household name yet, but with a win Satruday night at UFC on FOX 6 against Matt Wiman, he should be.
The former welterweight debuted in the UFC in 2009 when he upset Ryo Chonan at UFC 97 and has gone 6-3 since. Back in October of 2011, Grant decided to make the drop to the 155lbs weight class and beat Shane Roller in his debut. He went on to beat Carlo Prater and most recently Evan Dunham at UFC 152. Making the move to lightweight took him quite some time, but since has been undefeated.
“I was having success at welterweight and I was able to hold my own. I felt like I could compete, I just felt like I could never reach the highest level. So, 155lbs is a decision I’m glad I made for sure.”
Anyone that has ever cut weight before knows it is a grueling process which takes serious dedication. Now that Grant has decided to cut down to an even lower weight class that dedication has to kick in even more.
“I hate to say it’s easy, because I don’t think it’s easy. It’s just discipline and nutrition. You can’t be eating the dirty food, it takes a little bit of extra work, but it’s all good. At welterweight a lot of the time I was going into fights feeling like I was giving up the size advantage. That plays into your mind when you’re competing, especially in UFC. Now I feel that that’s one less thing that I have going on in my mind going into a fight.”
Grant’s fight against Wiman will be the featured bout on FX prior to the big FOX card. He will be in front of millions on the FX network which is a huge deal.
“I’m pretty happy, just for the fact that my fight is getting broadcast live. I’m fighting a great opponent and it’s going to be live on FX, so all my fans are going to get to see it all over Canada too. It’s pretty exciting and I’m just thrilled.”
Wiman was a contestant on season five of The Ultimate Fighter and lost to eventual finalist Manny Gamburyan in the quarter-finals. Since the show he has gone an impressive 9-3 inside the Octagon. “Handsome” is currently riding a two fight winning streak, most recently defeating Paul Sass by armbar at UFC on FUEL TV 5 this past September. Wiman is known for putting on exciting fights, wherever the bout goes and Grant doesn’t expect this fight to be any different.
“I’m just prepared for wherever the fight goes. There is nowhere I don’t feel confident in this fight. At the same time, I have nothing but respect for Matt’s game. He’s got some really good grappling, he’s tricky, he’s got some great submissions and he showed that in his last fight taking down Paul Sass. He didn’t get taken down; he initiated that. I respect his game, I don’t think I’ve had any fight that hasn’t gone to the ground and I haven’t had any fights that haven’t had some fists flying. So, I expect this fight to be no different. We are going to go out there and fight it out. I’m a competitor and I’ll take the fight wherever I feel like I have the advantage.”
In Grant’s last outing he brought home a cool $65,000 for winning the “Fight of the Night” bonus. He admits that he spent the money wisely, as it costs a lot to bring in good training partners and prepare for fights.
“It helped out a lot. I only fought once in 2011, which was kind of unfortunate, as I had a couple of fights fall through that year. Last year I got some fights under my belt and it costs money to pay training partners and bringing people in and to live. That chunk of change it definitely helped me out. I definitely used it the right way and I’ve got a little bit left over that I’m trying to save. You never know when this show is going to end, so I’m trying to be a little bit sharper with my money and keep making more”
Many have Grant ranked as the number one lightweight fighter in Canada. That doesn’t mean that he feels like he is doing everything right. He may be on a three fight winning streak, but he still likes to go back and watch tape to better himself as a fighter. Come January 26, Grant intends to show fans why he is the top ranked lightweight fighter in Canada.
“I do watch fights at different times. I don’t need to watch them a whole bunch, the coaches do that a little more and formulate a game-plan. We decide what we both feel is good and bad. Also, what we can do to improve from my last fight as well rather than just assuming I won my last three fights that I’m doing everything right. That’s not the way it is at all, I feel like I can always improve. I try to just be my best and if I fight the way I fight best, I can beat anybody. Studying film is absolutely important.”
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