Folks that pay attention to the top regional promotions in the sport were already familiar with Gravely before he turned up on Week 8 of the Contender Series last summer, as the Virginia-based fighter had crafted a 18-5 mark fighting quality competition in some of the best organizations around, winning titles under both the King of the Cage and CES banners. Though he suffered a handful of losses along the way, each of those setbacks came against promising talents, including eventual UFC competitors Manny Bermudez and Merab Dvalishvili, as well as promising upstarts Ricky Bandejas and Patrick “Patchy” Mix.
In August, Gravely introduced himself to the rest of the world — and more importantly, UFC President Dana White — with a relentless third-round stoppage win over fellow regional vet Ray Rodriguez. The effort earned the 28-year-old a ticket to the UFC and this weekend, he debuts a little more than 200 miles south of home in Raleigh with a chance to make an immediate impact in the bantamweight division as he squares off with former Cage Warriors and Titan FC champ Brett Johns.
Simply identifying Gravely as a grinder would be a disservice to the promotional newcomer, though he does operate at a high pace and is happy to wear opponents out with takedowns and tight control. Additionally, after beginning his career with eight decisions in his first dozen wins, Gravely has earned stoppage victories in seven straight by various methods. He’s developed into an all-around threat with tremendous conditioning and has a real opportunity to make a splash in the loaded 135-pound weight class right away.
Johns missed all of 2019 after suffering a knee injury early in the year and enters Saturday’s contest on a two-fight slide, but those bouts came against Top 10 fixtures Aljamain Sterling and Pedro Munhoz and, before that, “The Pikey” had put together a pristine 15-0 record that included three straight wins inside the Octagon. His extended absence may have prompted some people to forget about him a little, but make no mistake about it, Johns is a Top 15 talent and a serious test for anyone in the division.
Not only would a victory this weekend extend Gravely’s winning streak to eight, but it would also put him on the brink of breaking into the rankings after just a single UFC appearance and put him in a position to potentially land some even bigger opportunities later this year.
