Davey Grant wants ‘dream matchup’ against ex-champ Jose Aldo after UFC Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. – After a third win in four fights, perhaps Davey Grant figured it was a good time to shoot his shot.

Grant (14-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC) on Saturday outworked Ramon Taveras (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) for a unanimous decision on the prelims at UFC on ESPN 63. And while the victory moved him merely just past the .500 mark in his UFC career, the Brit thinks it’s time for a big one.

Grant said he’s hoping for a fight against former featherweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo, who recently retired – and recently unretired, too.

But Grant also had to pull out of a matchup against Cody Gibson earlier this year and said he’s also amenable to a rebooking, potentially in England in the first quarter of 2025.

“Cody Gibson said, ‘Look, hopefully you can get the win and then maybe we can fight again in London.’ So if I can go and fight him in London, (I’ll do it),” Grant said at his post-fight news conference at Amalie arena in Tampa, Fla.

“And if we talk on dream matchups, Jose Aldo – I’ve been watching him for years. If I was going to choose anyone, absolutely – that’s no disrespect to him at all. He’s an absolute legend of the sport. So if we were talking dream matchups, that’s who it would be. If Cody Gibson wants to go, hopefully London in March, then let’s do it.”

Grant’s win over Tavares was his first since a bonus-winning submission of Raphael Assuncao in March 2023 and came on the heels of a split decision loss to Daniel Marcos. Grant has five post-fight bonuses in his most recent eight fights.

Check out Grant’s full post-fight interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.