Joe Solecki is looking to bounce back from a tough (and somewhat humiliating) loss to Drakkar Klose. In the very first round of his Fight Night bout against the Michigan native last year, the 30-year-old was slammed to the ground and got slept by the latter.

With the ignominious loss in the rear-view mirror, Solecki is gearing up to face promising lightweight prospect Grant Dawson on the prelims of the UFC 302 card on June 1. Ahead of this bout in the promotion, we take a look at Joe Solecki’s nationality and ethnic background.

Joe Solecki’s nationality and ethnic background

Born in New Jersey, the American national started his martial arts journey by accident. Inspired by the cult-hit kids’ show ‘Power Rangers’, Joe Solecki started his martial arts journey at the age of six, in an attempt to be able to do karate like his favorite characters. While there is no confirmation about this, he seems to be of Polish descent, based on his last name. ‘Solecki’ is a common Polish surname and was historically taken by people from the Polish region of Solec.

And the New Jersey native, throughout his career, has used his grappling to devastating effect. Right from his professional MMA debut back in 2016, his prowess on the ground was apparent for everyone to see.

Of his thirteen pro MMA victories, the American has seven first-round submissions and a second-round one. However, competing against some of the top fighters in the world, he has found it difficult to carry the same brilliance on the ground to the UFC.

“It’s not about putting an opinion in anybody’s mind. At first, I was talked about as the finisher coming into the UFC that wasn’t tested, then you grind it out a little bit. Now it’s like, ‘Well, where are those finishes?’ (That finish) was a nice little reminder that I can still do both. It also lets future opponents know if you make that mistake, I’m right there to capitalize,” Solecki would say after his second-round submission victory over Carl Deaton III at their Fight of the Night clash last year.

Dawson, a tall task for Solecki?

As the American looks to get the bitter taste of his last slam knockout defeat out of his mouth, Joe Solecki faces an uphill task. The BJJ black belt will face Grant Dawson, who is in red-hot form, with the exception of his last fight.

Going into his last fight against UFC veteran Bobby Green, Dawson was the four-to-one heavy favorite for the bookmakers. However, ‘King’, with his ever-dangerous striking, caught him in the first round, knocking him out to snap Dawson’s eleven-fight win streak.

And Dawson is raring to bounce back and get back to winning ways, with an eye at breaking into the top fifteen of the 155-pound division. And if Solecki manages to win against Dawson, who was undefeated in the UFC until last year, he can be sure of good things coming his way in the stacked lightweight division, which is chock full of veterans at the top.

Needless to say, UFC 302 is going to be a big one for the UFC lightweight division. Give us your thoughts about this bout in the comments below.