Grant Dawson vs. Nad Narimani Set for UFC 'Fight Island' Event on July 18th.

Mandatory Credit: Jay Anderson - Cageside Press & Zuffa LLC 

A featherweight tie between submission-specialist, Grant 'KGD' Dawson, and former Cage Warriors featherweight best, Nad 'Smiler' Narimani is slated to feature at a UFC Fight Night event from Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE on July 18th.

Nebraska native, Dawson will attempt to extend his eye-catching winning run to seven fights, following a submission win over Darrick Minner at UFC Fight Night Norfolk in February. On the other hand, Narimani will look to recover from his first promotional defeat, following a knockout loss to compatriot, Mike Grundy, at UFC Fight Night London in March last year. News of the pairing was initially penned by MMA Junkie reporter, Farah Hannoun.

An alumnus of Dana White's Tuesday Night Contenders Series, 26-year-old grappler, Dawson earned a muti-fight deal with the promotion - following a second-frame rear-naked choke win over Adrian Diaz back in August of 2017. In outings since, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt has scored wins over Julian Erosa, Mike Trizano, and the above-mentioned, Minner - to move to 3-0 in the promotion. With eleven separate submission victories from fifteen wins, Dawson presents a tricky grappling threat to his 145-pound counterparts.

Debuting in the promotion back in July 2018 - Bristol native, Narimani was fresh from a unanimous decision win over Paddy Pimblet the April prior. Hitting the ground funning, the 33-year-old managed two decision shutouts against both Khalid Taha and Anderson dos Santos in 2018. Narimani was scheduled to meet with longtime promotional veteran, Nik Lentz at UFC Fight Night Raleigh, until an injury forced his withdrawal, with compatriot, Arnold Allen replacing him.