Grant Dawson says game plan against Bobby Green is straightforward, eyes Dan Hooker in December with a win

Grant Dawson didn’t expect to get his first UFC main event already but he is excited for it.

Dawson is set to headline UFC Vegas 80 on Saturday against Bobby Green. It is a fight that came together on relatively short notice, as Dawson only got about five weeks’ to prepare. However, he says he was told he would be fighting around this time for a while but thought it would be against Jalin Turner.

“There was like a three-way tie between me, Bobby Green, and Jalin Turner,” Dawson said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I think it was supposed to be me and Jalin Turner, I’m assuming Jalin couldn’t make the weight on short notice. So they handed it down to me and Bobby Green. I’m super happy about the matchup. I’m super excited, I think both Jalin Turner and Bobby Green bring something unique and value to me. Jalien Turner is a ranked opponent, but Bobby Green is a much more popular a much more veteran opponent.”

Taking it on short notice was a bit of a surprise to some, as Grant Dawson has vowed he wouldn’t take a fight unless he thought he could make the weight. Of course, he previously missed weight against Mark O. Madsen, but Dawson says his weight was already low due to him training with Thiago Moises for his fight.

“It worked out perfectly. One it was five weeks, which I don’t consider short notice. When I say short notice, I really mean anything under three weeks,” Dawson said. “But, I was helping Thiago Moises in his camp so I was already in good shape and the weight was low because I was training twice a day. I got back from Paris, took a couple of days off and got this message so jumped right into camp.”

Against Bobby Green at UFC Vegas 80, Grant Dawson knows his game plan is no secret. Dawson says he plans on wrestling Green early and often and either getting a dominant decision win or eventually getting the stoppage.

“We all know what Bobby is going to try and do. He’s going to come out and try and knock me out. We all know what I’m going to try and do, I’m going to try and take him down and submit him or groud-and-pound him. It really comes down to who implements their game better,” Dawson said.

If Dawson does get his hand raised on Saturday, the hope is he can return in December against Dan Hooker.

“The rumor I heard is he’s ready to go in December. I’ll be ready to go in December barring no major injuries in this fight. Bobby Green is the only person on my mind right now. I have to beat Bobby Green or nothing else comes to fruition. However, I would like to fight Dan Hooker sometime in the future. If I could get one more in this year, that would be amazing, but I’m not going to hold my breath,” Dawson concluded.