TBA vs. T.J. Grant at TUF 9 Finale

by Scott Haber on May 20, 2009 9:56 PM EDT Comment 11 comments

Although June 20th's TUF 9 Finale suffered a blow to its lineup when the Anthony Johnson-Matt Brown matchup was cancelled today, another solid welterweight bout will take its place when Xtreme Couture's Martin Kampmann clashes with Canadian submission specialist T.J. Grant. MMA Mania reports the news:

Grant announced the bout earlier today via his Facebook page and MMAmania.com was able to independently confirm the announcement with Grant’s camp.

Kampmann (15-2, 6-1 UFC) was formerly in line for a title shot at 185 lbs, but after injuries prevented him from getting a crack at #1 contender Rich Franklin, and a humbling beating at the hands of Nate Marquardt convinced him to drop to a more natural 170-lbs, the Dane revived his career at welterweight. After decimating newcomer Alexandre Barros in his welterweight debut, Kampmann next clashed with former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit in the main event of UFN 18 in April, where the two young stars went back-and-forth in an exciting battle that saw Kampmann edge out a split decision win.

Grant (14-2, 1-0 UFC) is a Nova Scotia-based BJJ specialist who made his bones in the ranks of King of the Cage and Canada's TKO promotion. Given a tough task in the form of experienced veteran Ryo Chonan in his UFC debut at UFC 97 in April, Grant came through in front of his native Canadian fans and scored a split decision win over the Japanese fighter, which also subsequently led to Chonan's release from the UFC.

UPDATE FROM MMA MANIA:

MMAmania.com has been informed by TJ Grant’s camp that Martin Kampmann has opted not to sign the bout agreement, effectively canceling the proposed contest.

Grant however, is still slated to appear at the TUF 9 finale on June 20.

Current TUF 9 Finale rumored card:

MAIN CARD

Lightweight Finalist #1 vs. Finalist #2
Welterweight Finalist #1 vs. Finalist #2
Clay Guida vs. Diego Sanchez
Nate Diaz vs. Joe Stevenson
Martin Kampmann vs. T.J. Grant

PRELIMINARY CARD

Kevin Burns vs. Chris Lytle
Melvin Guillard vs. Gleison Tibau
Mike Ciesnolevicz vs. Tomasz Drwal
Brad Blackburn vs. Edgar Garcia

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Comments

interesting matchup

I would’ve thought Kampmann would be on more of a contender track after beating Condit.
I was very impressed by TJ Grant’s last performance — in fact I have a Judo Chop about it I need to bust out when we get closer to this event.

"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"

by Kid Nate on May 20, 2009 10:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

After his all out war with Condit, I was really excited to see who Kampmann’s next opponent would be. Said excitement has now subsided.
If he wins this decisively, his next fight has to be a number one contenders bout.

by MMAussie on May 20, 2009 10:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs