UFC's T.J. Grant ready for title fight, thanks Mike Tyson for vote of confidence

T.J. Grant (21-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) today said UFC cards in August and September suit him just fine for his upcoming title shot against lightweight champ Benson Henderson (19-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC).

“It’s good because I won’t have that month where I don’t know who I’m fighting next, where I’ll allow myself to get fat and drink a few too many beers and eat too much pizza,” he told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “I’ll be able to build off of what I accomplished.”

The 29-year-old Canadian accomplished quite a bit this past Saturday, knocking out two-time lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard at UFC 160 to secure the No. 1 contender spot.

UFC 160 co-headliner Junior dos Santos was set to receive a $50,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus following his spinning-kick KO of Mark Hunt. But former boxing champ Mike Tyson, who sat cageside for the fights at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, lobbied for Grant and ultimately convinced UFC President Dana White.

“I’m happy that ‘Iron Mike’ went to bat for me,” Grant said.

Grant’s stock also rocketed up in the division. Previously No. 14 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA lightweight rankings, he now sits in the No. 5 position.

Following two unsuccessful tries at the lightweight title against now-ex-champ Frankie Edgar, Maynard had hoped to secure a third title shot and came out aggressively in the first round of the pay-per-view bout. Grant, though, took his early shots and then delivered a straight right hand that dropped “The Bully.” A flurry of punches later, and he had earned the biggest win of his career.

“I went in there expecting to go through hell, really,” Grant said. “That was my goal mentally. I was pretty emotional, pretty fired up, because I knew to win that fight, I had to put myself in a lot of danger. I couldn’t have pictured it any better.”

Grant said he actually trained not to exchange punches early with the heavy-handed Maynard, but he switched his approach when he withstood the initial onslaught.

“I felt like after taking a couple of shots, I started to get his rhythm,” he said. “I didn’t feel like he was going to be able to fight at the pace I was putting on, and I wasn’t giving him a second. A big, strong, muscular dude like that needs time to breathe, and I didn’t give him any time. I feel like even before I landed my combos, the fight started going my way.”

The dominant win, Grant said, could actually create a problem against Henderson, who most recently defended his belt against ex-Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez.

“It kind of sucks now because he’s going to be extra motivated because of what I did,” Grant said. “But I want the best Benson Henderson. That’s my goal right now, is to become champion and win. The only way I know how to fight is to attack from the start of the fight to the end, and give it my all.”

White said Henderson vs. Grant could take place at UFC on FOX Sports 1 1, which takes place Aug. 17 in Boston, but said the promotion would formally announce the date at a later time.

Grant said he prefers to fight at UFC 165, which is planned for Sept. 21 in Toronto, because he would be fighting on home soil. But he welcomed the possibility of fighting on the cable-TV card.

“Those two cards for me sound incredible,” he said. “FOX Sports 1, that’s a whole different type of platform and equally as good as the pay-per-view, if not better.”

Going forward, Grant, who was 3-3 as a welterweight before his current win streak of five as a lightweight, doesn’t want to rely on his ability to withstand punishment. But this time, he said, things couldn’t have worked out better.

“I’m eating some sushi as we speak and enjoying a little mini-vacation,” he said. “I’ll be back to work soon. I’m looking forward to getting that sixth win.”

For the latest on UFC 160, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

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