LAS VEGAS – Jared Gordon thinks he’s going to be at lightweight to stay.
After a couple shots at featherweight in which he missed weight, then a return to lightweight, Gordon isn’t trying to get to 145 pounds anymore. Instead, he said he’ll have to be OK without as rigorous of a weight cut – but also being smaller for the 155-pound division.
Gordon (18-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) fights Grant Dawson (17-1-1 MMA, 5-1-1 UFC) on the UFC on ESPN 35 main card Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+.
Gordon said there will be plenty of reward if he beats Dawson, which would run his winning streak to four. He also takes some moral victories from a knockout loss to current lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in late 2019 before he won the title.
“I knew he was really, really good,” Gordon said. “… When I lost, we were in the hotel room and my wife said, ‘He’s going to be the champion.’ And then I watched him beat Kevin Lee, and (Tony) Ferguson, and so on and so on. That loss aged really well for me. ‘His last loss is to the champion’ – it almost sounds good.”
Check out Gordon’s full media day interview in the video above.
Jared Gordon: Charles Oliveira loss ‘almost looks good’ in hindsight