The well-traveled Englishmen will lock horns at the behest of the Professional Fighters League when they confront one another in a PFL Europe 2 welterweight showcase this Saturday at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England. Leary, 41, seeks his first victory since October 2020. He has long been familiar with Grant’s work.
“It’s weird,” Leary told Sherdog.com. “It’s one of [those situations] where we’ve basically fought on the same shows coming up. We’ve both fought on all the shows coming through. I’ve seen him fight and stuff like that, but we’ve never crossed paths really. I’ve never met him to talk to him or anything, but he’s always been someone on the radar because we fought on the same shows; and we’ve both fought at lightweight and welterweight. We’ve both moved around weights a little bit, so yeah, he’s always been someone on my radar, but [I have] never met him, never got any interaction or anything really.”
As a result, little to no animosity exists between them, and Leary, for his part, does not need any additional motivation.
“I’m never one to really hype too much beef,” he said. “People may have beef with me, but I don’t. We’re going to go in there and have a fistfight, so I don’t need to get worked up. I don’t mind whether he’s friendly or not. He can badmouth [me]. He can do what he wants. Even if he’s really nice, I’m still going to try and punch a hole in his head. That’s just what I like to do. Afterwards, we shake hands and stuff like that. I respect everyone that gets in there, but I’m not into trash-talking and stuff like that.”
Grant, 32, enters the cage with wins in 10 of his past 14 fights. The Bellator MMA, Brave Combat Federation and Cage Warriors Fighting Championship alum last competed at PFL Europe 1, where he wound up on the wrong side of a split decision against Abdoul Abdouraguimov on March 7. Grant boasts 18 finishes among his 19 career victories: nine by submission and nine by knockout or technical knockout. He poses a threat in a variety of areas.
“I’ve seen a lot of his fights on the different shows,” Leary said, “so it’s not hard to see where he’s good and where he’s strong. He’s a very, very good grappler, but he likes to come and fight like I do. If every fight starts standing, I think he’s going to trade a little bit. I think we’ll trade, but nine times out of 10, when I start landing, people start shooting takedowns because I hit hard. My power carries through most of the rounds. They start shooting takedowns at some point. From what I’ve heard, he’s game, he’s got a hard head and he likes to come forward and throw, as well, so, I think it’ll be an exciting fight. I think we start trading and see who drops first.”
It has now been more than a year since Leary suited up. The Team Crossface product submitted to a rear-naked choke from Yancy Medeiros under the Bellator banner in April 2023. However, the result was later overturned to a no contest after Medeiros failed a post-fight drug test.
“I spoke to Yancy about it just to find out what had gone on, and he openly said he got a knee injury and stuff like that,” Leary said. “He tried a few things. He tried something to get himself back into the fight. He wasn’t trying to be like a super athlete—he was just trying to heal his injury—but at the end of the day, steroids are steroids. You shouldn’t be taking them if you’re going to be fighting.”
Leary turns 42 in December and understands he no longer has time on his side. With advancing age and 32 fights worth of experience comes wisdom.
“There’s obviously going to be a time where you have to stop,” Leary said. “It’s more now about not trying to be the hardest worker in the room anymore. It’s about being the smartest worker in the room, knowing when I need the recovery, knowing when I can push harder and when to get these hard sessions in, stuff like that. My body’s feeling pretty good. My head feels great. I feel young still, but time does catch up on everyone. I’m just going to keep going until I realize the time’s past. At the moment, I don’t feel it’s there. I think I’ll know when I’m not performing. If I’m getting battered every fight or I’m really underperforming, then I’ll know it’s time.”
Until he decides to put away the gloves, Leary feels as though he has a reputation to uphold and an obligation to fulfill.
“I like to come and put on exciting fights,” he said. “People are paying good money to come and see people put on a show, so I always try my best to come in and fight hard for the fans. I’m very lucky to be doing a job that I love. It pays my bills, and it gives me time to spend time with my family. I’m thankful for all the fans that come to watch, which gives me the opportunity to get paid to do something I love.”