Grant Dawson vs Damir Ismagulov added to UFC on ESPN 48
We’ve got a very exciting lightweight encounter to look forward to this early summer, as divisional standouts Grant Dawson (19-1-1) and Damir Ismagulov (24-2) will go to battle at UFC on ESPN 48.
UFC on ESPN 48 is to go down on July 1, 2023, live from the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada, an event to be headlined by no. 7 ranked Sean Strickland (26-5) and UFC newcomer Abusuplyan Magomedov (25-4-1).
Grant Dawson and Damir Ismagulov have both had a lot of success inside the UFC octagon, and each of them were quite successful prior to joining the roster.
Dawson came to the promotion with a 12-1 record and had jumped between 145 lbs and 155 lbs throughout his young career. However, he decided to move back down to the featherweight division in his bout prior to fighting on Dana White’s Contender Series, a bout he won via submission (rear naked choke) in round two.
Dawson would go 3-0 (2 rear naked choke submissions, 1 UD) down at 145 lbs, one bout of which he missed weight by 3.5 lbs. He then had a catchweight bout of 150 lbs in his fourth outing with the promotion, a fight he won via unanimous decision.
Next, he decided to move back up to 155 lbs, where he’s since gone 3-0-1, securing third round finishes in all three victories (1 KO, 2 rear naked choke submissions).
Then we have Ismagulov, who made it to 19-1 as a professional prior to joining the UFC’s roster, and he came over as the two-time defending M-1 Challenge lightweight champion.
Ismagulov tore right through everyone they put in front of him for a while there, as he went 5-0 through his first five bouts, four wins via unanimous decision and one via split decision. The only problem with this was, he did this over the course of nearly five years; he was quite inactive there for a while, taking year-plus absences twice in that time.
However, this will be his third fight in just over a year, though he’d suffer his first promotional defeat in his most recent outing to current no. 8 ranked Arman Tsarukyan, and he’s looking to get back on the winning track with a victory over Grant Dawson this summer.
We’ve got the MMA grappling and pressure of Dawson, which is seemingly second to none in this sport short of maybe Colby Covington, and then the incredibly slick striking and takedown defense of Ismagulov. This is going to be a good one you don’t want to miss.
Who do you see coming out on top in this lightweight contest going down at UFC on ESPN 48?
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