Grant contemplated retirement, return date remains uncertain
TJ Grant: “My health comes number one and my family and all that, but fighting is definitely a huge part of my life. I definitely don’t want to go out on that type of note.”
UFC lightweight T.J. Grant, 30, suffered a concussion while rolling last July, and has not fought in well over a year. He won his last five in a row, but missed out on a title shot with then champion Benson Henderson, and another title shot in Dec with Anthony Pettis.
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Grant, who is now doing everything in training besides spar, was asked if he had contemplated retirement.
“Yup, I did,” said Grant as transcribed by Luke Thomas for MMAFighting. “I probably did that a lot over the winter. It just got frustrating. I just tried take it one day at a time. I love fighting. I don’t know what my life would be without somehow being involved in the sport. There were just times where you have all these really negative thoughts and you’re bitter and all this other stuff. I feel pretty good. It’s all in the past. Still, my health comes number one and my family and all that, but fighting is definitely a huge part of my life. I definitely don’t want to go out on that type of note.
“It’s been a really different year. When I’m watching the fights, I’m a fan, too. Whether I’m potentially fighting a guy in eight weeks or just watching him on TV, I’ll just sit there and enjoy the fights. I’ll give my thoughts and everything like that. I just kinda try to take a step back. I can’t help but be in the situation I am to look around and….I try not to be bitter. I always look at these guys that are having success. I wouldn’t say I’m jealous. I just feel like I can do their job as good or better than they can. That’s all I want to do. I just want the opportunity to go out there and do what I want to do. I try not to cry over spilled milk and all I can control is myself, my attitude and what I’m going to do the next day. That’s really all I can do.”
“My goals are to get back in there this fall. It’s kinda beyond my control, but I think just being in this state for so long, I know my head’s good, but I’ve been having some issues with my neck and I want to make sure I can get everything sorted out and reset my body. It’s been in state for so long that I don’t know if it’s my brain’s telling my body there’s pain or there’s inflammation or what. Hopefully I can get this fixed up in the next bit.”
“I’ve been feeling pretty good for a while. If you don’t feel normal – and there’s definitely been days where, do I feel normal? No – but when I feel good, I feel good. I’m getting pretty close to feeling 100 percent normal, but still a little bit of a hurdle.”
Grant is looking forward to fighting again, although he is not sure when. The UFC debuts in Halifax in October, but that is looking increasingly likely. As to who he fights when he finally steps back in, Grant says, really, he is “not too pickly.”