Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
The Breakdown: Undoubtedly the best fight of the prelim slate pits undefeated beard aficionado Hendricks against would-be Canadian wunderkind Grant. It’s a bout that will likely make the winner a main card regular -- a status that should have been afforded to Hendricks back when he smashed Amir Sadollah with an uppercut marathon out of Julian Jackson’s playbook.
This fight presents a much more interesting style challenge, as Grant has both the striking and jiu-jitsu to make life miserable for the Marc Laimon disciple. There is no arguing that Hendricks will control where this fight goes considering his next-level assortment of wrestling techniques. Grant has shown a slick butterfly guard in past bouts, though, and the punching power to hold his own on the feet. Holding his own won’t win him the fight, however, and the ground-and-pound loss Grant took from Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 100 isn’t the kind of experience he wants to relive.
More than anything this fight comes down to Grant doing what he couldn’t do to Kim. He has to use the guard to not only keep his head from getting bashed in but also create offensive opportunities. While Hendricks has been a challenging student for the video-obsessive Laimon, it was clear in his fight with Ricardo Funch that Hendricks is starting to master how to use his wrestling to generate offense beyond takedowns. Having the maturity to accept and improve the flaws in your game is a quantum leap few prospects make, and it’s one that Hendricks seems to be making as Grant actively resists it.
The Bottom Line: There has been little discernible improvement from Grant since he joined the UFC fray. Meanwhile Hendricks has erased the memory of a difficult WEC tenure with a pair of dominating performances in the Octagon. As is, Grant is good enough to give Hendricks some trouble, but he isn’t going to do much beyond test Hendricks’ chin and make him play it safe on the mat. That won’t be enough to save Grant from a ground-and-pound loss.