Martin Kampmann Refuses Offer to Fight T.J. Grant at TUF 9 Finale

by Leland Roling on May 22, 2009 9:13 AM EDT Comment 25 comments

We don't hear about this happening too often as many fighters want to stay in the good graces of Joe Silva and Dana White, but Martin Kampmann has refused to fight T.J. Grant at The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Finale:

"No disrespect to T.J. Grant, but I don’t think it’s a fight that makes any sense for me at the moment. I want to fight some higher ranked guys. I never even knew who the guy was, and he’s probably a tough guy. But I want to fight guys who make sense for me and who can escalate me up the ladder more, so I didn’t accept that fight. I don’t know what happened, but apparently some miscommunication somewhere because I saw it all over the Internet…. If I’m thinking with my b*lls, I’ll take any fight that comes up. But I got to be smart about my career and take the fights that make sense for me, and I don’t think that fight makes sense for me at this time. Maybe when he gets some more wins in the UFC and builds up some good wins in the UFC, then maybe will meet somewhere along the road later."

Kampmann's reasoning behind the refusal makes some sense. T.J. Grant is at the bottom of the ladder right now while Kampmann recently defeated WEC Welterweight champion Carlos Condit in an absolute war of a battle at UFN 18.

Kampmann also sports a 15-2 record currently with a 7-1 record inside the UFC. Giving him a matchup with a newer fighter in T.J. Grant doesn't seem to be in line with the progression that Kampmann is making in his new weight class.

Personally, I'm a big fan of Martin Kampmann and would love to see him against some better competition in the division. T.J. Grant definitely needs some more competitive fights, but matching him with Kampmann doesn't look to be a fight that is very favorable for him. Kampmann has the BJJ skills to counter Grant's grappling as we saw versus Condit, and Kampmann's striking is likely on a different level than Grant's.

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Good for him. If he doesn’t feel like the reward is worth the risk then he shouldn’t take the fight. I know guys are hesitant to do this but he did what’s best for him here. He probably did what’s best for TJ Grant as well. At the end of the day, Kampmann has to answer to himself.

by jebushchrist on May 22, 2009 9:23 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I dunno

TJ Grant really impressed me against Ryo Chonan at ufc 97. I have a 1/2 finished judo chop about 2 moves he pulled off in that fight. I was going to bust it out before this fight. now i’ll have to wait for someone to man up and face him. : P

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by Kid Nate on May 22, 2009 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps your judo chop will convince me that Grant is ready for Kampmann.

by jebushchrist on May 23, 2009 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’d be more bound to side with Kampmann here if he didn’t get completely clowned by Nate Marquardt. I don’t really think he’s in such a special position that he can suddenly dictate to Joe Silva and the fans that he deserves to be fighting high-end fighters. The last time he did he got knocked out. And it’s not like TJ Grant isn’t a good fighter. He’d certainly be the underdog against Kampmann but it would be a close fight.

by Ahhhoki on May 22, 2009 9:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, but he’s dropped down to Welterweight. One of the things to think about is where the UFC sees Carlos Condit. Condit vs. Grant wouldn’t be overly ridiculous. It’d get Condit back on track. I’m not sure why Kampmann was the instant choice.

I disagree though, I don’t think Grant is on his level at all. Kampmann has VERY good defensive jiu-jitsu, and he has the ability to submit a lot of guys. Grant’s main tactic relies on his grappling ability. I don’t see him competing at all standing.

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by Leland Roling on May 22, 2009 9:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed.

Kampmann has definitely earned his way into more career progessing fights and shouldn’t be the greeter for new prospects.

Agreed to on the Condit situation. Coming off of a loss, he would be lucky to be given a greenhorn to build himself back up off of.

by Razreshat on May 22, 2009 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I did forget about Condit but I cannot really think of a higher level welterweight that would fall in line with what Kampmann is asking for. Maybe Marcus Davis or Koscheck.

by Ahhhoki on May 22, 2009 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’d throw out: Chris Lytle, Matt Brown, Karo (post-suspension)… There’s plenty of guys who are in the “mid-range with upside” category that would be about right for Kampmann right now. Grant, who I really like, is definitely a bit raw for him.

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by AJB on May 22, 2009 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agree with Kampmann

I didn’t think this fight made sense for him from the moment the rumor came out. Going from Condit to Grant does nothing for him. I think TJ is a good prospect and have watched him fight for a while but he shouldn’t be going against Kampmann right now. I’d much rather see Kampmann take on Swick or Koscheck or someone like that, those fights make sense for him.

by Meers311 on May 22, 2009 9:48 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

its all about the build up

THe ufc is all about building its next set of stars these days and for casual fans that means fighting guys that are tough but over matchd on spike. it introduces fighters who maybe have come from hjapan (anderson silva), (who have langished on undercards (clay guida). Fighting on spike tov and killing someone would really be good for kapmans career and help the UFC promote any future title fights for him.

if he is so good then i think its a good risk to take this fight

by bearcox13 on May 22, 2009 9:53 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i think...

that there are some fighters who would disagree, like fabricio werdum and josh koscheck

"All I guarantee is Violence" - Wand

by rockied on May 22, 2009 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The only way I see Kampmann taking that fight is if it gave him more exposure. Surely that fight would have been televised, but he’d have to win in a crushing fashion to get the fans talking. I suppose there was potential for that, but in theory, Kampmann deserves a better opponent.

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by Leland Roling on May 22, 2009 9:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’d love to see Kampmann fight Swick. See which of them belongs near the top of 170. Both have looked good since dropping.

by SplitBreast on May 22, 2009 10:04 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, but I’d rather see Ben Saunders clown Swick first.

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by Leland Roling on May 22, 2009 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Sho nuff. I hope Anthony Johnson is healthy in time for either Kampmann, Swick or Saunders.

by subo on May 22, 2009 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So, when are we going to see Condit fight again?

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by lovingmma25 on May 22, 2009 10:23 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Koscheck might be a good opponent for Kampmann. Mike Swick not a bad idea either.

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by MMAEruption on May 22, 2009 10:44 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m sure Kampmann could have beaten Grant for sure, but Kampmann’s reasoning is sound. I’d like to see him fight tougher opponents too, considering outside of Alves, I don’t really see a clear WW contender. I doubt people want to see GSP / Fitch II, (although if Alves wins, I’d be interested in Fitch/Avles II), nor is GSP / Swick very interesting, IMO. No need to take a chance at Grant possibly beating Kampmann and having him knocked down a peg.

I hope Condit gets back in the W column soon. I’d like to see him back on track, though loosing to Kampmann is nothing to sneeze at. Their fight was awesome.

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by pud333 on May 22, 2009 11:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think the reason they handed him TJ Grant is because they don’t want to pull his trigger yet. I’ve heard the UFC is positioning Mike Swick for a shot if they need to, because there are som many other plans with GSP if he beats Alves. Here’s what would need to happen for Swick to get a shot though…(Not in order)

1.Swick beats Killa B
2.Hendo beats Bisping
3.Fitch beats Thiago
4.Forrest beats Anderson
5.Hughes beats Serra, and NY passes on MMA
6.Thiago Alves beats GSP

by TheAlphaNerd on May 22, 2009 12:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Kampmann is just stuck like the LW’s were for a little bit.

by TheAlphaNerd on May 22, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If Swick beats Saunders and gets a title shot, I’d fucking bitch and moan forever. Crushing Goulet and beating Saunders isn’t the road to the title. The biggest problem is that all these guys from AKA are in the division, so they won’t fight each other.

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by Leland Roling on May 22, 2009 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He’s also beat Marcus Davis and Josh Burkman at WW. There isn’t really any other name people would recognize to fight for GSP right now.

by TheAlphaNerd on May 22, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good move by Kampmann. His next opponent should be either the Hughes/Serra winner, Josh Koscheck, or the Fitch/Thiago winner. He just beat Condit, he deserves a nice fight.

by Michael Rome on May 22, 2009 2:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m a TJ Grant fan and think he has a bright future, but this is the right move for Kampmann 100%.

You don’t headline a card against the last WEC champion, fight a war and then take a step backwards. Let’s not forget that this guy was in line to face Rich Franklin for the MW belt before blowing out his knee and opening the door for some guy named Anderson Silva…

He (Kampmann) needs to keep fighter tougher opponents and the UFC needs to realize that he’s one of the guys who could legitimately challenge GSP in the next year and showcase him appropriately.

by E. Spencer Kyte on May 22, 2009 5:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs