UFC comeback: Reverse triangle saves Grant with 17s on the clock

On the UFC Las Vegas preliminary card, Raphael Assuncao and Davey Grant faced off in an interesting event. Both had snapped their losing streaks with single wins in their previous outings, setting the stage for an exciting showdown. The event took place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels on Saturday.

The first round saw both them sizing each other up, but it was Assuncao who came out swinging. He landed a counter overhand right that turned Grant’s lights on and resulted in a kick that the Brazilian caught.

Assuncao pressured Grant after pushing him to the floor, but their cage position made it challenging to wrap in the second hook. Grant managed to make it back to his feet, relatively unharmed.

Grant then landed a big straight right hand that pushed Assuncao back momentarily. Assuncao’s leg kick became his clear weapon of choice to halt the forward pressure of Grant. The round ended with both back in their corners.

Round Two

The second round began with more forward pressure from Grant, but Assuncao looked more comfortable. Assuncao ducked under a big right hand attempt from Grant and latched onto a single-leg attempt but couldn’t secure it. Grant once again tried to close the distance with a low leg kick, but Assuncao returned a big counter right hand.

Assuncao’s lateral movement made it difficult for Grant to nail down his timing, and he was unable to get much offense going in the second round. The Brazilian secured a takedown with just under a minute left of the round and maintained strong wrist control to keep Grant where he wanted him for the rest of the round.

Round Three

Going into round three, Eric Nicksick told Assuncao that he needed to put the pressure on as he was unsure how rounds one and two would’ve been scored.

Grant landed a heavy right behind the ear of Assuncao in the third, momentarily dropping him to his backside. Not long after, the 40-year-old secured another takedown, but Grant made it back to his feet and landed some heavy shots to a labored Assuncao. The latter attempted another takedown and was deep on the heel of Grant close to the fence. However, he grabbed the fence and was deducted a point.

Reverse Triangle Finish

After being deducted a point, Grant knew he needed a finish in the final moments of round three. He landed a spinning back fist, dropping Assuncao to his knees, and shot for an emergency takedown. Unfortunately for Assuncao, he was caught in a reverse triangle by Grant and was quickly went out. Grant emerged as the winner with a huge come-from-behind submission win.

Following the event, Assuncao laid down his gloves in the cage to signal his retirement, stating, “I think my time has come now. I put a lot of effort into this training camp, away from my family. I think it’s time for me,” during his  interview with Daniel Cormier.

Official Result

Davey Grant won by submission (reverse triangle) in the third round at 4:43.