Like a lot of young men, Bogdan Grad grew up believing that he was not allowed to be scared, because if you’re scared, you’re weak, and men are not supposed to be weak.
The 29-year-old carried that mindset with him into his first appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series, and credits his first-round knockout loss to fellow UFC competitor Tom Nolan for helping him detach from that way of thinking.
“When I went the first time in 2023, my mindset was ‘I’m gonna win this; 100 percent I’m gonna win,’” began Grad, who makes his second appearance of the year this weekend in Baku, Azerbaijan opposite Muhammad Naimov in the opening bout of Saturday’s six-fight main card.