Grant Dawson is pleased with his win over Jared Gordon last Saturday.

Dawson changed camps to American Top Team ahead of the fight and says that showed in his performance at UFC Vegas 53. Although he got the finish, he says there are still things he can improve on.

“I’m always hard on myself, I’m my toughest critic but I do feel pretty good about it. There is something up with the third round that I do need to go and look at,” Dawson said to BJPENN.com. “At the start of the third round, I tend to be more cautious because I’m usually up 2-0 and the other person has a sense of urgency to rush a finish. It’s not that I’m tired or gassed it’s more being cautious but other than that it was a picture-perfect performance.”

Although Dawson was a bit disappointed in the way he started the third round, he was able to control the fight and eventually get the submission win. For Dawson, submitting a great grappler like Gordon is a big feather in his cap.

“One thing that did surprise me was I was able to get my arm around his neck,” Dawson said. “I can’t say enough good things about Jared and this is a huge feather in my cap as I do think he is overlooked and people don’t realize how good he is. He’s someone that catapults me into fighting a top-15 guy next. I’m very happy with this win.”

The plan for Grant Dawson is to make a quick turnaround and for him, he believes there are three names that make sense for him. The three people he likes as his next opponent are Diego Ferreira, Brad Riddell or Dan Hooker, but he believes Ferreira makes the most sense.

“I would think so but I’m not in any hurry. I would like a top-15 guy next, 6-0-1 in the UFC, people get title shots in the UFC off seven fights and not losing,” Dawson said. “The top-15 is next but if they want to throw me someone outside the top-15 for another paycheck I’m fine. The goal is to be the champ not be top-15.

“I think the three names that make sense are Diego Ferreira, Dan Hooker, and Brad Riddell. I don’t think they will give me Brad, I think they want to save him for a fight against another striker,” Dawson concluded. “To me, the fight that makes the most sense is Diego Ferreira, we were booked and he is on a losing streak so he needs to prove he can keep his top-15 spot.”

Who would you like to see Grant Dawson fight next?