TJ Grant puts on a grappling clinic UFC 119

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My friend and instructor TJ Grant absolutely dominated Julio Paulino this weekend at UFC 119.

It's not getting a lot of play with all the other storylines emerging from the PPV - and it didn't make it to the main card. But it was an absolutely one-sided BJJ beatdown. TJ's only shortcoming was that he was hunting for the submission a little too hard, hoping to put on a good show and snag a bonus.

Paulino looks clueless on the ground - but once you realize he was a Pan Am Champ at blue belt, it becomes clear just how good TJ is as a brown belt.

When TJ first got signed, I promised grappling fans wouldn't be disappointed. He also has some very crisp muay thai.

People are saying a great matchup would be TJ vs. Amir Sadollah and I agree. Both have solid BJJ and muay thai.

Keep an eye out for TJ Grant!
 
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This was a great TJ Grant performance. His kimura sweep into an inverted triangle choke was really exciting stuff. I love Grant's front headlock takedowns too. TS, you must be learning a lot from Grant, he seems like he would be a good instructor.
 
*look around, it's easy to find this fight online
 
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What sort of wrestling background does Grant have? Did he wrestle in high school and college? He has some really good takedowns and control.
 
I actually paid to watch this fight from the UFC.com vault. $2 well-spent. Aggressive grappling is fun to watch.

I have the feeling TJ would have tooled Paulino on the feet if he wanted to as well, his muay thai looked fantastic against Hendricks, and that thai plum he had on Paulino in round 1 was tight.

TJ needs some main card exposure!
 
TJ wrestled in high school at the Canada Games level. And he was the Nova Scotia high school champion.

It's not exactly elite compared to NCAA wrestling. But TJ has brought up some wicked wrestlers to train with, like Ben Askren and Michael Chandler. Canadian Greco champ Kevin Manderson used to be TJ's training partner. He can hold his own in a wrestling match. He absolutely beat the piss out of Beau Baker who is a decent wrestler and was able to out-wrestle him.

I see TJ as sort of a Fitch type. He is not a freak athlete or genetically gifted. But he works his ass off and maximizes sound fundamentals.
 
I knew TJ Grant was the safest bet that night. I had him in most of my parlays. I was at the event and I found the fight very enjoyable. I don't feel he was ever in danger at all and he constantly had Paulino in danger.
 
TJ wrestled in high school at the Canada Games level. And he was the Nova Scotia high school champion.

It's not exactly elite compared to NCAA wrestling. But TJ has brought up some wicked wrestlers to train with, like Ben Askren and Michael Chandler. Canadian Greco champ Kevin Manderson used to be TJ's training partner. He can hold his own in a wrestling match. He absolutely beat the piss out of Beau Baker who is a decent wrestler and was able to out-wrestle him.

I see TJ as sort of a Fitch type. He is not a freak athlete or genetically gifted. But he works his ass off and maximizes sound fundamentals.

Thanks for the information. His grappling definitely looked great in that fight on Saturday. I was really impressed by his work, and I really want to see where he'll go from here.
 
I am not sure on the sherdog's policy. I just thought people needed to see the fight. Let me know if I should remove the link and I will.
 
UFC copyright staff usually finds the sites and takes them down.

I knew that but I always thought it was against forum rules to post links to full fights and that it was a bannable offense. Guess not. If I had known this, I would've linked a lot more fights.

TJ looked awesome. I got some thoughts on this for tonight but I gotta go train and get a massage :icon_chee. Be back later
 
I deleted the offending link. Sherdoggers are intrepid enough to find the fight for themselves.

TTT for Drew Foster's insights!
 
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