MISSOULA — Former Grizzly Garrett Graves is making the switch from the gridiron to the cage.
Graves, a Eureka native who suited up for the Montana Grizzlies football team, was announced for his first mixed martial arts fight on Friday, which will happen next Friday, March 7, at the Adams Center in Missoula.
Regional promotion Fusion Fight League is putting on the bout. The fight will be at light heavyweight (205 pounds) and will be an amateur fight.
Graves is taking on Mike Rieken of Rapid City, South Dakota. Rieken is 1-1 as an amateur MMA fighter.
Graves, a two-time state champion in both football and wrestling at Lincoln County High School in Eureka, was a multi-year talent for the Grizzlies at safety and special teams in his time at Montana. He competed at UM from 2018-2023 and played in 55 games and made multiple starts.
In 2023, Graves was a key senior as UM made a run to the FCS national championship game in Frisco, Texas, against South Dakota State. For his work that season, Graves was named first-team All-Big Sky Conference on special teams.
Another small-town product to suit up for the Grizzlies, Graves was a hard-hitting safety and special teams player that rotated where needed, and racked up 120 total tackles, 6.5 for loss and three interceptions in his college career.
Graves has been working and training with the Rocky Mountain Fight Team in Missoula in preparation for his first fight.
The March 7 Fusion Fight League event at the Adams Center will be headlined by a bare knuckle boxing fight between UFC veteran Justin Jaynes and Missoula's Lloyd Mix in the main event.
