"He's got the right man": Davey Grant wants first-round KO of Elijah Smith, but expects a war

Bishop Auckland's Grant, 40, meets the 23-year-old at UFC Vegas 124 on Saturday in the last fight of Smith's UFC contract, and Smith says the booking surprised him.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Wed 4 Nov, 22:43 UK · AI-assisted reporting

Davey Grant speaks at UFC Vegas 124 media day — UFC Vegas 124 media day

Davey Grant said he wants to knock out Elijah Smith in the first round at UFC Vegas 124 on Saturday, but told media day on Wednesday that he expects a war.

Asked whether he planned to drag the 23-year-old American into deep waters, the 40-year-old from Bishop Auckland said "Yeah, that's the plan", then changed his mind: "well, not really". He went on: "Ideally, I'll knock him out in the first round, you know. That's always going to be the plan. But I expect a war. I expect a war. Anything less will just be a bonus."

A reporter put it to him that Saturday is the last fight on Smith's deal, and asked if that would give him a chip on his shoulder. "Yeah, I would have thought so, definitely. I mean, yeah, it's the same every fight, you know," Grant said. He added that Smith wants to carry on with his career: "If he's coming for a scrap, he's got the right man, you know. So let's, let's have it."

Grant called Smith a "great fighter" and said: "His dad came up from the UFC, so he's definitely well schooled and knows a hell of a lot about the game." Smith is the son of UFC veteran Gilbert Smith. "And I feel like he's good everywhere, and then I'm just gonna be better," Grant said.

Smith, speaking earlier at the same media day, said he had not seen the fight coming. "When they gave me the name Davey Grant, I was actually surprised. That was not on my list of names who I thought they would probably give me," he said. "I think he turns 41 next month. I mean, my dad, he just turned 45, so it's crazy."

He said he expects nothing new from the Englishman. "He's gonna come in, he's gonna be strong, he's gonna throw hard ... he's gonna fight, he's gonna fight, and lucky for him, I like to fight back," Smith said.

Smith, who told Josh Hokit to "stay in your lane" over a diss track at the same session, has said he will be a free agent after Saturday and that nobody has spoken to him about a new deal. He has won all three of his UFC fights and is on an eight-fight winning streak.

Grant, 18-8, made his UFC debut in 2013 and beat Adrián Luna Martinetti by unanimous decision in April. He said he wants three more fights next year and to "be in the top 10 and taking names off that list". He also said it would have been harder to get here starting out now. "I'm pleased that I got in it before the curve, you know," he said. "In all honesty, there's nothing, there's nothing special about me. I'm no freak athlete."

Their bantamweight fight is on the main card at the Meta APEX, which starts at 1am UK time on Sunday on TNT Sports.

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Josh Hokit