The MMA Daily

A potential pink-slip fight comes in the Welterweight division, as Dwight Grant takes on Dustin Stoltzfus. A loser of two straight and three of the last four, Grant comes into this fight needing to right the ship. Having had a hard time finding his footing inside the octagon, only winning three of his seven fights with the promotion, Grant’s tenure with the UFC could be determined by this fight. Meanwhile, Stoltzfus urgently needs a victory. A loser of three straight, all of which have come in the UFC, Stoltzfus has been afforded a rare opportunity to not make the same mistake a fourth time.

This is good matchmaking, as one of these gentleman need to get their careers back on track. Obviously Stoltzfus is down worse, but I don’t think Grant is any safer to remain on the roster with another loss. A striker with excellent power, Grant has made a living off sending foes into the shadow realm. However, his hesitancy to throw strikes has been a huge crux in his career. In seven UFC fights, Grant’s highest significant strike total was 49. Add in the fact that he has been involved in four split decisions in those seven fights, and it’s evident why he hasn’t had much success thus far inside the octagon. As for Stoltzfus, he’s mainly a grappler. A good one at that, who quite frankly, has been fed to three grappling wolves during his UFC tenure. Known to have good wrestling and excellent submissions, Stoltzfus may finally get to showcase his skills against someone who isn’t a BJJ wizard.

Although this fight is a bit of a crapshoot, I favor Stoltzfus to notch his first UFC victory. Knowing Grant’s hesitancy on the feet and the fact that Stoltzfus has never been stopped due to strikes, I’m not overly concerned when these two strike. My concern however is if Stoltzfus can get this fight to mat. Seeing how Grant has been taken down in four of his last seven fights, there seems to be an opening. A small one though perhaps, as only once in those four, has Grant been taken down more than once. Regardless, knowing Stoltzfus needs a win and given his wrestling being key, I like his chances. So with that said, I predict that Stoltzfus wins via decision.