Why Davey Grant's takedown defence is the key variable against Elijah Smith

The setup

UFC Fight Night: Bonfim vs. Brady lands on Saturday, November 7, 2026 at Meta APEX in Las Vegas, and on the main card sits Davey Grant (18-8-0) against Elijah Smith (10-1-0) at bantamweight, scheduled for three rounds.

The card carries 13 bouts in our tables, with this pairing on the main card. The bout is listed as announced in the PropBetEdge schedule.

The question this preview works through is whether Davey Grant can keep the fight where 65% takedown defence says it will struggle to stay, against a 2.98-takedowns-per-15 opponent. Career-to-date round statistics are on file for both fighters, so that comparison is two-sided.

Tale of the tape

• Record: Davey Grant 18-8-0 · Elijah Smith 10-1-0
• Age: Davey Grant 40 · Elijah Smith 24
• Height: Davey Grant 5'8" · Elijah Smith 5'9"
• Reach: Davey Grant 69" · Elijah Smith 71"
• Stance: Davey Grant Orthodox · Elijah Smith Orthodox
• Listed weight: Davey Grant 135 lbs · Elijah Smith 136 lbs

The 2-inch reach gap in Elijah Smith's favour (71" to 69") is the tape's headline number; it defines the range each man is working from. A reach edge matters most when the longer fighter also sets the pace, and here the numbers cut the other way: Davey Grant out-lands Smith 5.58 to 4.18 per minute, so the shorter fighter is the busier one and has to cross the gap to do it. That is a different fight from a long fighter picking apart a passive one. Elijah Smith is the younger by 16 years (24 to 40). Age on its own tells you little at this level; it reads better alongside the layoff figures in the form section. Both fight orthodox, so lead hands mirror and the rear-hand exchanges are conventional.

Recent form

Our archive has 16 completed UFC bouts for Davey Grant, 9 wins and 7 losses. 4 of those wins came inside the distance (3 by KO/TKO and 1 by submission), a 44% finish rate on archived wins. He has been finished 4 times in the archive. Most recently he beat Adrian Luna Martinetti by unanimous decision in round 3 on Apr 25, 2026. That puts him 196 days out by fight night.

• W vs Adrian Luna Martinetti — unanimous decision, R3 (Apr 25, 2026, UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. Zalal)
• L vs Charles Jourdain — submission, R1 (Oct 18, 2025, UFC Fight Night: De Ridder vs. Allen)
• W vs Da'Mon Blackshear — unanimous decision, R3 (Jul 26, 2025, UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. De Ridder)
• W vs Ramon Taveras — unanimous decision, R3 (Dec 14, 2024, UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley)
• L vs Daniel Marcos — split decision, R3 (Jul 22, 2023, UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs. Tybura)