A British fighter opened 'Fight Island' with a left hook knockout so horrific it left his opponent motionless on the canvas
- Davey Grant delivered one of the most stunning knockouts of the summer, finishing Martin Day in the third round.
- Day began the fight so well, dropping Grant in the opening round. But he surrendered the momentum in round two, before losing consciousness and laying motionless on the canvas in the third.
- Grant told reporters on press row after the fight that it felt like Day broke his jaw in the first round. Regardless, he battled through the injury to get the win.
- Grant and Day's bantamweight bout was a brilliant way to begin UFC 251 as the world's leading mixed martial arts firm begins its two week, four event residency on "Fight Island," in Abu Dhabi.
- Watch the knockout below.
FIGHT ISLAND — Davey Grant lived up to his 'Dangerous' nickname Saturday, as the Englishman recovered from what he said was a broken jaw in the first round, to deliver a knockout so horrific, his opponent lay motionless on the canvas.
It was all going Day's way in the first round when he dropped Grant with a thud, banking the opener, before surrendering the momentum in round two, and losing by knockout in the third.
Grant celebrated raucously around the inside of the Octagon but saw the state he had left Day in, and so he knelt down in front of his opponent to check he was regaining reconciousness. And he was.
Grant told the UFC president Dana White through the fence that he had suffered an injury in the first round, and as he strutted past press row, he told assembled reporters that he had broken his jaw.
Watch the brutal KO here:
A camera deployed on the commentary booth caught Bisping's reaction:
With the victory, Grant advanced his record to 12 wins (two knockouts, eight submissions, and two decisions) against four losses.
"I knew what he was coming for and I knew what I wanted," Grant said. "I thought I'm going to try and be technical in the first two rounds. I thought if it was all working, I'd go to town and then have a war."
The highlight-reel finish from Grant was a brilliant way to open the UFC's grand "Fight Island" festival, as it begins a four-event and two-week residency in a quarantined area on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, starting Saturday, July 11 with UFC 251 at a purpose-built, behind-closed doors venue called the Flash Forum.
"I wanted the first fight on UFC: Fight Island to be a good war," Grant said. "I think we gave them that."
He went on: "I knew that if I could get inside (I could knock him out). I knew he has really good kicks and good hands.
"He dropped me in the first and I didn't know where I was at," Grant said. "I thought I'm still going to stand and trade with him.
"I wanted a fight like this in the UFC. I feel like I've been a bit cautious. I wanted to stand in the pocket and bang—that's how you get the knockout."
UFC 251, one of the UFC's most significant events of 2020, has three title fights on the card and is headlined by the UFC welterweight championship bout between the reigning champion Kamaru Usman and the challenger Jorge Masvidal.
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