Call it home-cage advantage.
Cole Harbour mixed martial arts star T.J. Grant will re-enter the octagon on Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal for UFC 124. It’s Grant’s sixth career UFC fight — he’s 3-2 — and third at the Bell Centre, where the crowd always gives him a much-appreciated boost.
“It’s like home field — they always cheer on the Canadian boys,” the 26-year-old said. “You get cheers for everything you do. It plays in your opponent’s mind and I feel it gives me an extra advantage.”
Grant, coming off a win over Julio Paulino in UFC 119 in September, will go up against American Ricardo Almeida, who has a 5-4 record at the UFC level and is a third-degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt.
Grant, who has a Brazilian brown belt, said it will be the toughest test yet of his Jiu Jitsu skills.
“We’re both strong in that area and I’d give him the advantage,” Grant said. “But this is an MMA fight and I’ve been training hard on my wrestling, striking and my Jiu Jitsu, so I feel good about it.”
