Davey Grant has spent over a decade fighting in the UFC, but his passion for competition extends beyond a cage.
Grant is a seasoned UFC bantamweight, with seven wins in Dana White‘s promotion, and makes his return to the Octagon this weekend.
Grant fights on the same card as Mancunian Lerone Murphy, who is aiming to secure a future title shot through victory over Josh Emmett in the main event.
The Bishop Auckland native faces Brazil’s Daniel Santos in Las Vegas, which ultimately seems a world away from his typical weekend activity.
“Everyone keeps me pretty humble,” he told talkSPORT.com, speaking on his elite fighting career compared to his life as an amateur footballer.
Grant plays for Evenwood Town FC, who are based in County Durham and play in the Darlington Sunday Invitational League, where they currently sit second behind leaders Darlington Shuttle and Loom.
“I love playing football, and if I was any good at football when I was young, I would have been a footballer, not a fighter,” Grant said.
“But I just didn’t make the cut. I still play for my local Sunday team…Evenwood Town FC.
“We’ve got a good little team and actually my son is going to join them at the end of this month as well because he’s just turning 16.”
Having emerged from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) in 2013, where he was coached by Ronda Rousey, ‘Dangerous’ eventually snapped up a UFC contract and made his debut three years later.
On his inaugural appearance, Grant defeated Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, who was the first man to beat Sean O’Malley in the UFC, and has since gone on to win six of his 11 subsequent bouts.
“She was hands-on every single session,” Grant added, speaking on his experience around former UFC bantamweight champion and women’s MMA icon Rousey.
Grant won his first two bouts before losing in the finals of his TUF season, where UFC legend Nate Diaz made a guest appearance.
However, the Durham man clearly impressed as he was offered a contract with the promotion not long after.
Over 12 years later, Grant is now 39 years old and insists he’s never felt any better as he expressed his excitement for the Vegas bout at UFC Apex this weekend.
“I’m just still learning. I’m still a student of the game,” Grant responded when asked about utilising his experience over Santos, who is ten years his junior.
“And I feel like I’ve really, really found my feet, especially in the Octagon now.
“I feel so comfortable when I’m in there… experience is a fantastic thing, but the only way you can get experience is by having experience.
“I feel absolutely blessed to be able to go and do this on this stage and to feel the way I feel when I’m fighting.
“It’s the best I’ve ever been in my career. And I feel like I just keep getting better.”
Grant went viral in 2021 when he scored two virtually identical knockouts in consecutive victories, which earned him two $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses.
He has lost just once in the last four years, and that defeat was only to a split decision in July 2023 at UFC London.
“There’s no sign of me slowing down yet. I really feel like I’m at the best I’ve ever been,” Grant responded, speaking on when he might lay down the gloves.
“I want another three [fights] this year. Probably two is a little bit more realistic.
“[In my career?] It’d be up to ten, more than ten. Honestly, I don’t know.
“I always said, look, if I still feel like I can hang with the best guys in the world, I’ll keep fighting.
“I can bang with anyone in this division. I know I can. So until I feel like that’s not the case, then maybe we’ll start to look at hanging them up.
“But I’ve got no plans of retirement just yet.”
UFC Vegas 105 takes place this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, with Grant fighting on prelims and Murphy in the main event.
