In the opening match of the main card, Grant Dawson defeated Darrick Minner in the second round.  On short notice, Darrick Minner stepped in to face Grant Dawson in a featherweight showdown at UFC Fight Night 169.

Both men have fought on the regional scenes of Nebraska but never fought each other until now. Neither fighter had any good words for each other going into the fight.

Grant Dawson vs Darrick Minner, how it went down

Minner opened up the first round with powerful leg kicks and attempted a guillotine choke within the first few seconds. However, Dawson survived and wound up on top.

What followed was a series of grappling exchanges from both men. There were multiple submission attempts made by Minner including two armbars. However, Dawson survived all of them.

Both men made their way back to the feet. This was followed by another guillotine attempt by Minner. Again, Dawson got out of it and ended up in half guard. Dawson followed up with heavy strikes from the top. He got a hold of Minner’s neck in the last few seconds of the round. However, Minner was saved by the bell.

Round two started the same way as the first one. Minner rushed in for the guillotine choke but Dawson popped out and ended up in full mount. Eventually, Dawson took Minner’s back and submitted him with a rear-naked choke.

Throughout the fight, Minner was trying to rush in for the finish. This was probably because he took the fight on eleven days notice and did not have the cardio to go on for all three rounds.