TJ Grant lost his claim to a title shot as soon as he found himself injured and the UFC was forced to replace him. Sometimes that is a tough pill to swallow, as the UFC is a bit strange about title shots. If you are around when they need you, they want to give you a shot, but when circumstances change, so does where you stand for the title. Who knows that better than Anthony Pettis? He was originally slated to face the winner of Gray Maynard vs. Frankie Edgar II, until that fight was a draw. Then both of those guys got injured and Pettis got sick of waiting for his shot, so he took a fight with Clay Guida and his title shot went up in smoke.
TJ Grant feels like he deserves his shot at the title and would like to see it before Aldo and Pettis have their super fight. He is now in the exact position that Pettis was in a while ago, curious, isn’t it?
“I’m pretty sure Aldo is a little banged up as well right now,” Grant said. “My opinion — I’m a fan, and I love watching UFC fights. I watch all of them, whether they’re people I’m potentially fighting or not, I enjoy it. Pettis against Aldo is an exciting fight.
“But, hey, I just won my last fight in two minutes. I knocked the [Gray Maynard] out. I knocked the guy out before that [Matt Wiman]. I feel like I’ve earned it. I feel like I’m the guy. I’ve been in the UFC a long time. I’ve never really gotten the push that I feel like I need but I’ve also built a lot of experience in fighting and haven’t been in the spotlight, which is nice too. But I’m ready to be there and I’m ready to go out there. Give me the opportunity man. I feel like I’ve earned it.”