T.J. Grant.

BY JAMES BRYDON
sportsnet.ca

Canadian T.J. Grant accomplished a 10-year-old dream when he made it to the UFC this year. The Cole Harbour, N.S., native isn’t ready to let it go.

Grant, who will kick off Saturday’s UFC 107 card in Memphis in a welterweight matchup with Kevin Burns, won his Octagon debut in front of his fellow countrymen in Montreal in April by defeating Ryo Chonan.

He fought again three months later at UFC 100, but there he suffered a disappointing loss to Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 100. The 25-year-old admits he can do a lot better.

“I just wasn’t happy with the way I fought. I’d rather go out in a blaze of glory than the way I did,” Grant said. “I just felt flat. I looked at the whole performance and I didn’t really get going. I didn’t seize any momentum, which is key, right?”

With both he and his opponent coming off losses -- Kevin Burns has dropped his past two, against Chris Lytle and Anthony Johnson -- Grant (14-3, 1-1 in the UFC) knows Saturday’s fight, which is scheduled to be the first of the night on the undercard, is an important one for determining whether he’ll be staying with the big show, or be headed back to the Canadian circuits.

“I know how it works. I know probably what’s at stake for both of us in this fight,” Grant said. “But there’s always pressure. I put the pressure on in training and that just helped me prepare harder for this fight.

“But when push comes to shove and I get out there on Saturday, I’m just going to clear my mind and fight.”

Against Burns (7-3, 2-2 in UFC), he’ll come in with a game plan, but Grant, who spent a two-week portion of his training camp with former UFC fighter Jorge Gurgel in Cincinnati, doesn’t expect he’ll automatically stick to it. That’s what makes it a mixed martial arts fight -- he's got to mix it up if necessary.

“(Burns is) aggressive. I’ve got to create angles and that’s about it,” Grant said. “We’re both going to have strategies but in the end it’s just going to come down to fighting and who wants it more. I put in the hard work, I’m ready to go, I’m ready to take this fight wherever it needs to go.”

“Ever since I was 15 years old, I saw myself being in the UFC one day. I love the sport of mixed martial arts and it’s something I want to do for the rest of my life, or for as long as I can. So this fight’s important to me.”

T.J. AND THE BEAST:

To prepare for an opponent the size of Burns, Grant brought in a fellow Canuck to his regular training facility, Fit Plus, in Halifax.

Six-foot welterweight Cory MacDonald of Kingston came down to help Grant train. Grant had no shortage of great things to say about him. Emphasis on great.

“Cory’s a good man. (But) he’s a monster,” Grant said. “He’s a great big guy. It was good because he has similar body to (Burns). I think Cory could be the biggest welterweight I’ve ever seen. He’s got a good set of skills and he likes to work hard. And he’s just a great training partner, so I was glad to have him come out. “

MacDonald (10-2) is on a five-fight win streak. He’s coming off a split-decision win over Thiago Goncalves at a Heat XC event in July.