Damir Ismagulov, Grant Dawson to Toe the Line at UFC on ESPN 48 on July 1

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A post shared by Дамир “Qazaq” Исмагулов (@ismagulov_damir)

The winner of this upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight tilt could crack the top 10 with a solid performance.

On Thursday, MMA Junkie first broke the news that Damir Ismagulov (24-2) and Grant Dawson (19-1-1) would be meeting at UFC on ESPN 48 on July 1. The event will take place inside of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and the lightweight duel is expected to be placed on the main card. Both fighters confirmed the pairing shortly after its announcement.

Ismagulov was excited about the fight, stating on his Instagram, “Back to UFC Fight Night – July 1, 2023. Top 15 opponent. Another challenge. All or nothing, as we say, debts must be repaid. Fighting for my future. All or nothing! Chance to prove what I can do to wrestlers when I’m 100% Let’s go!”

The Orenburg, Russia, native suffered his first loss since 2015 when he came up short against Arman Tsarukyan at the final UFC card of 2022. That unanimous decision loss snapped a 19-fight win streak, including five in the Octagon over the likes of Thiago Moises, Guram Kutateladze and Joel Alvarez as he worked his way through the 155-pound category. Although the 32-year-old flirted with retirement after the defeat, citing health issues, he rescinded that shortly thereafter and even called for a rematch with Tsarukyan. The Boets MMA fighter has heard the final bell in all six of his UFC appearances to date, with his last finish coming by injury over Artem Damkovsky in 2018.

Dawson was very respectful of his opponent, writing, “Bags out of the cat. Dawson (15) vs Damir (12) July 1st in Vegas. Very tough fight ahead of me and I am ready for this challenge. I think very highly of Damir and am ready to show how much better I have gotten since joining the best team in the world at ATT.”

“KGD” has yet to taste defeat since joining the roster back in 2019 off of the first season of Dana White's Contender Series. With seven wins and a draw to his credit this far with the promotion, Dawson’s 2022 campaign went swimmingly as he landed two third-round rear-naked chokes on Jared Gordon and the previously undefeated Mark O. Madsen to impress the UFC brass. The American Top Team trainee sports a stellar finish rate of 89%, far above his prospective foe’s of 54%.

UFC on ESPN 48 goes down on July 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, where Sean Strickland and Abusupiyan Magomedov will square off in its middleweight main attraction. While several additional fights have been booked, the card order is far from complete. Additional pairings that may grace the main card include a welterweight scrap between Max Griffin and Michael Morales, a middleweight collision pitting Abdul Razak Alhassan against Brunno Ferreira and a women’s flyweight matchup as Ariane Lipski faces Melissa Gatto.