Former International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) 2018 European Bronze medallist, Bogdan Grad, is one big win away from a shot at the UFC.
The Romanian-born lightweight, who represents his adopted home of Austria, is set to compete on season seven of Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). Grad will take on undefeated Australian prospect, Tom Nolan, as both men vie for a UFC contract.
An 11-fight IMMAF veteran, Grad is considered by many to be one of the top prospects on the European pro-MMA scene. Boasting a professional record of 11-1, as well as an extensive amateur record, Grad’s level of experience puts him levels ahead of much of his opposition.
The Romanian-born athlete made his IMMAF debut in 2015, competing at the IMMAF 2015 World Championships. The event took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, for the second time as part of UFC International Fight Week and in partnership with local MMA promotion Tuff-N-Uff: The Future Stars of Mixed Martial Arts.
Speaking with IMMAF, Bogdan Grad discussed the impact of gaining so much experience, both in terms of competing and the behind-the-scenes pressure of being a mixed martial artist, before even going pro.
“We flew to Vegas. It was the first time for me, flying away and fighting somewhere else. It was a great experience because everything was really professional from the first time you entered the room where the IMMAF was, till the end. It was very good for my development.”
“I had three fights, the first I won by decision against France. The second fight was against Bahrain, where I won by TKO. Uppercut, boom, left hook, and he was on the ground, a couple more shots and he was done.”
However, Grad notes that whilst he was able to comfortably defeat his first two opponents, when matched up with Josh Ellis, who would later go on to claim gold in the World Championships, he found that there was a major deficit in his game:
“So, the next day I fought against Josh Ellis. It was a tough fight. I have to say, when we were standing, I was better than him. But he was so clever. He took me down every time, all three rounds. I had zero takedown defence. I was a BJJ guy, so I tried to submit him. It didn’t work. That was the only fight where I really got smashed, for three rounds. He put some really good ground and pound on me.”
However, despite losing to Ellis in a dominant fashion, Bogdan Grad simply went back to the gym, and began rounding out his skillset:
“That was a big lesson. Then we started to switch. I started to train wrestling to switch my style, to change my style, and after that, I was not on the ground that much anymore, at least not on the bottom.”
It was experiences like these that allowed Bogdan Grad to become the elite lightweight prospect that he is today, on the cusp of entering the UFC. Grad doubled down on his belief that an extensive amateur career is the key to success for modern-day MMA athletes, giving them time to develop well-rounded skillsets, and mentally prepare themselves, for the rigours of a professional MMA career, without any impact on their record. He states:
“My opinion is that every athlete, every MMA athlete should have a long amateur career. There are many reasons why. One of them is your record is deleted when you turn pro. So, you can have at amateur, 10 wins and 20 losses. Who cares? Nobody cares. But you get the experience. Thanks to IMMAF, you get the experience. You fight a lot of strong, good guys. The guys that fight at IMMAF are pros, in my opinion, much better than a lot of pros fighting in the other leagues.”
“So, you can develop yourself very well. You learn a lot; you go through injuries. You go through losses, you grow up, you know, you grow from a young man into a real man. So that’s my opinion. You should have a long amateur career. Then you can turn pro and then you can start what we all want, the way to the UFC.”
Grad continued to compete under the IMMAF banner for several more years, ache a podium in the 2018 European Championships. In this tournament, Grad faced and defeated Ciaran Clarke, who has since become a 7-0 professional, competing for Bellator MMA. After 2018, Grad would make the move to professional MMA, with 11 IMMAF bouts and a bronze medal to his name.
Bogdan Grad now prepares for the biggest fight of his life to date, taking on the undefeated Tom Nolan, under the watchful eye of Dana White and the UFC matchmakers. When asked how he hopes the fight would play out in an ideal world, Grad’s confidence was evident:
“It’s not an ideal world. It’s what’s gonna happen. You that you have to think like that. I mean, anything can happen in an MMA fight. Nolan is a machine. He’s really tough. But I think that if he survives the first round, in the second round, it’s gonna be over.”
“Maybe I’m gonna knock him out on the feet. If not, and if I get to get my hands on him, I’ll put him down. Maybe you’ve seen some of my ground and pound? It’s gonna be over. Some ground and pound and he’s gonna go to sleep.”
Due to the volatile nature of the world of professional MMA, Bogdan Grad isn’t looking too far into the future. However, the former IMMAF European Bronze medallist does have his next two years planned out:
“So, the contract that we signed is for the Contender Series, and then four fights in the UFC. I am confident that I already belong to the top 15 now, and I’m gonna prove that. That’s my first goal. I take it step by step to get into the top 15.”
“Until the top 15, nobody can stop me. This is my plan. I’m gonna take it step by step, step by step. After one year, we are gonna have maybe those four fights. We see how it’s gonna be. And then we are gonna plan the next. But to keep it short, in one year I’m gonna be in the top 15 and knocking on the top five door.”
Before this, Bogdan Grad must overcome his DWCS opponent, and impress the UFC president. The much-anticipated lightweight bout takes place on Tuesday 08.08.2023 and will be available to watch on UFC Fight Pass.
