Grant made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2007 and compiled a record of 13-2 before being signed by the UFC.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Grant debuted at UFC 97 with an upset split decision victory over Japanese veteran Ryo Chonan. Grant next fought South KoreanDong Hyun Kim at UFC 100. He lost a unanimous decision. Grant then defeated Kevin Burns via first-round TKO on December 12, 2009, at UFC 107. The performance earned Grant Knockout of the Night honors. Grant faced future UFC Welterweight ChampionJohny Hendricks on May 8, 2010, at UFC 113. Grant lost via majority decision after having a point deducted due to groin strikes. Grant defeated Julio Paulino on September 25, 2010, at UFC 119 via unanimous decision. Grant next faced Brazilian Ricardo Almeida on December 11, 2010, at UFC 124. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Grant was expected to face Matthew Riddle on June 26, 2011, at UFC on Versus 4. However, Riddle was forced from the bout with an injury and replaced by Charlie Brenneman. Then, just days before the event, Grant was forced out the Brenneman bout with an illness. Since there was not enough time to find a suitable replacement, the bout was scrapped. Grant dropped down to Lightweight for the first time in his career and faced Shane Roller on October 1, 2011, at UFC on Versus 6. After controlling the fight on the ground for the first two rounds, Grant attempted an armbar in the middle of the third round. Although the submission looked tight, referee Fernando Yamasaki stopped the bout due to Roller's audible pain, although Roller did not appear to have tapped out. Despite Roller's protest, Grant was declared winner by technical submission. Grant was expected to face Jacob Volkmann on December 30, 2011, at UFC 141. However, Grant was forced from the bout with an injury and replaced by Efrain Escudero. Grant faced Carlo Prater on May 15, 2012, at. Grant defeated Prater via unanimous decision. Grant faced Evan Dunham on September 22, 2012, at UFC 152. Grant won the fight via unanimous decision and won a $65,000 Fight of the Night bonus along with Dunham. Grant faced Matt Wiman on January 26, 2013, at UFC on Fox 6. He won the fight in dominant fashion, finishing off Wiman with a series of elbows and punches at the end of the first round. Grant faced then UFC #3 Lightweight Contender Gray Maynard at UFC 160 on May 25, 2013. UFC president Dana White announced at the UFC on Fox 7 post-fight press conference that he expected the winner of the Maynard/Grant fight to get a UFC Lightweight title shot. Grant won the fight via TKO in the first round after knocking Maynard down with a straight right hand on the jaw, earning Knockout of the Night honors. Grant was expected to face then UFC Lightweight ChampionBenson Henderson on August 31, 2013, at UFC 164. However, Grant was forced out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by Anthony Pettis, who won the championship. A bout with Pettis was targeted for December 14, 2013, at UFC on Fox 9. However, Grant revealed in mid-September that he has yet to be medically cleared after suffering a concussion in training and would not be eligible to compete on December 14 and opted to decline the bout. Pettis eventually withdrew from the bout as well, sustaining an injury of his own. On May 5, 2014, both TJ Grant and fellow UFC fighter Nate Diaz were removed from the UFC’s Lightweight rankings after being deemed inactive by the UFC. Grant listed being in debt, and not wanting to take the risk of going further in debt as the reasons for him potentially walking away from MMA forever.
