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#6 TJ Grant
Canadian TJ Grant is a rare case in that he was actually granted a title shot at UFC 164, but was forced out with an injury and then never returned to make his claim at the Lightweight title. Grant had reeled off 4 wins in a row midway through 2013 when he was matched with former title challenger Gray Maynard.
The plan was for the winner to face champion Benson Henderson later in the year, and Grant lived up to his end of the bargain, destroying Maynard with a vicious Muay Thai assault in the first round. He looked like one of the most dangerous title challengers to come around in some time – slick ground skills and violent striking – and the fight with Henderson was quickly signed for August that year.
Unfortunately, Grant was forced out of the bout with a concussion, and Anthony Pettis stepped in to replace him and submitted Henderson to win the title. A match between Pettis and Grant was then tentatively scheduled for December, but Grant was unable to return and a year after the Maynard fight, he was removed from the UFC rankings after being deemed inactive.
Grant still hasn’t returned to UFC action despite reports in 2015 suggesting he was healthy again. It’s been almost five years now since his last fight and the chances of him returning to finally take his title shot seem somewhere between slim and none.
