TUF Season 3 winner, Kendall Grove, announced via his Facebook page this evening, that he has been released by the UFC following a decision loss to Tim Boetsch at UFC 130:
"thank u UFC for a lot of Good memory’s. Respect to all the staff at Zuffa for always treating me like family."
Kendall Grove (12-9)
Loss - Tim Boetsch Decision (Unanimous) UFC 130
Loss - Demian Maia Decision (Unanimous) TUF 12 Finale
Win - Goran Reljic Decision (Split) UFC 116
11 months ago
Scott Haber
38 comments
0 recs |
Email
PrintComments
Let me preface this by saying I’ve never liked Grove, but does Dana/Lorenzo (Darenzo?) realize that they own Strikeforce? Kendall Grove will never be a contender, but a 6’6" middleweight striker who can put on a decent fight? I mean, why the hell not? Throw him in Strikeforce against Manhoef, Lawler, Yancy, Scott Smith (who should be at 185), Cung, Kennedy, loser of Rockhold/Jacare, and so on and so on.
Zuffa does a lot of things right, but managing two MMA organizations so far has been a little ehh…..
Follow my Twitter or be a dick! @BVandDietPepsi
I never really had anything against Grove, but him getting released by the UFC really is something that seemed inevitable. He was stuck in mid-tier purgatory for such a long time and could never get a good win streak going as of late.
The thing with Strikeforce is that they have generally not taken many UFC castoffs unless they had upside like Daley, Henderson, or Werdum with the only exception being Jorge Gurgel. I think that it’s smart from a business perspective and even a growth perspective. Think about it like this, who would ask for more money, a former UFC fighter with little-to-no upside or a prospect with a lot of upside? The former UFC fighter would probably ask for more money than a prospect, but then Strikeforce is just stuck with a mid-level fighter with no upside. Why not just get a Middleweight prospect with potential?
Check out the C&D Channel on YouTube for MMA reviews, predictions, analysis, and other MMA related content.
It has been that way in the past. But now that they are the same company the reason is obsolete. You don’t want to look like you’re taking your own leftovers doesn’t make any kind of sense.
I think that the reasoning still makes sense and should still follow it. Strikeforce can get a prospect with upside or Kendall Grove, and I don’t see why they won’t get the prospect. Looking at who they’ve been signing as of late: Yuri Villefort, Lorenz Larkin, Danillo Villefort, Jason High, and Quinn Mulhern, it looks like they are still signing prospects. Also, what’s stopping them now from getting any middle-of-the-road former UFC fighter like Goran Reljic, Steve Bruno, any former TUF contestant, because signing fighters like that doesn’t make sense to me, and I think that Kendall Grove fits into the category. It’s not a matter of taking leftovers, it’s a matter of taking a fighter with upside or not.
I would not be totally against Strikeforce picking up Grove even though he is a mid-tier fighter. He does have some name value fighting in the UFC for as long as he has and being a former TUF winner, so he is an exception. I think in general though, I don’t think that Strikeforce/Zuffa should be picking up these fighters that washed out of the UFC and have little-to-no upside.
Check out the C&D Channel on YouTube for MMA reviews, predictions, analysis, and other MMA related content.
by chrisbboy82 on Jun 18, 2011 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions
Grove's career decision to be a lanky 6'6" instead of growing into his frame over 6ish years of high level MMA:
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
It's been almost six years,
you’re just reacting to that NOW?
by Anton Tabuena on Jun 18, 2011 1:40 AM EDT up reply actions 7 recs
Who'd he copy it from? Don't even think about saying Anderson Silva, because he wasn't the first.
And then God created Saturn ... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it. ... Always a ninja
SaberCats Examiner | SB Nation Bay Area | Niners Nation | Twitter
I think what makes it so bad when Grove uses it is how he spells it
“Da Spyder”? Seriously? That is some sixth grade shit. I bet he spells it out in alternating upper and lower case letters too.
Oh I definitely hate that. It's definitely dumb.
It’s just the guy implying that there’s any originality in 90% of MMA nicknames … c’mon son!
And then God created Saturn ... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it. ... Always a ninja
SaberCats Examiner | SB Nation Bay Area | Niners Nation | Twitter
all those guys nicknamed pitbull are copying each other too
www.mmalinker.com
by exsanguinator on Jun 18, 2011 4:07 AM EDT up reply actions
Dont even get me started on those guys calling themselves ‘Hitman’ lol
Also whats Dave Herman thinking, their is only one pee wee! etc etc
by Mustardfinger on Jun 18, 2011 5:59 AM EDT up reply actions
JLau
KenFlo
Nick “The Promise” Ring
Rick “The Horror” Story
by Anton Tabuena on Jun 18, 2011 6:50 AM EDT up reply actions
Rick should change his nickname to "The Neverending"
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
Editor, HeadKickLegend.com
Still Subo at Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on Jun 18, 2011 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Only Thomas Hearns should have ever been allowed to call himself The Hitman. No one else can be a hitman.
President of Joe Warren Fan Club®
by Scabby Knuckle on Jun 18, 2011 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Kendall grove
plz gain muscle mass. build ur strength move up to 205. with his height he might, just maybe do some damage. and maybe just be a good gate keeper in that LHW class. then lol he could keep a job.
Grove Needs to LEARN....
He just needs to go to a GREAT camp that can actually TEACH him HOW-TO USE his reach ADVANTAGE!!! I’ve been saying that since TUF! I will agree it has been coming for some time; however, putting him against Boetsch (FORMER LHW) just seemed like Dana & Co. were looking for a “reason” to cut him w/out too many complaints!
Sean Sherk You're Dead... BJ Penn
my point..
Grove is tall and weak. he is too weak for 185 and too weak for LHW. yes of course he needs to go learn more and more. every fighter needs that. he can use that reach all day but if there is no power or muscle behind that jab ITS POINTLESS bc other fighters will just run right thru his jab. He has the frame to fight at 205.
allow me to channel my absolute best Dana White impression...
:)
by The Hamburger Pimp on Jun 18, 2011 2:33 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
did Fedor lose another fight?
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
He was knocking on the door of being cut for a while now
He was winning one, losing one, winning one, losing one, back and forth.
It’s just that he wasn’t looking terrible in defeat, and then he would bounce right back with a win, which they can’t cut you after.
I figured as soon as he lost 2 fights in a row he’d be gone.
June 18th, 2011:
Fabricio Werdoomsday
Game Overeem
Start becoming interested in this movie right NOW!http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_tree_of_life_2011/
Some people really love and enjoy their career as a UFC fighter. Kendall Grove probably feels lucky to have followed his dream. And even though I don’t like him, that doesn’t mean he isn’t human; he probably feels lost and overwhelmingly disappointed right now.
I think that's a reaction to the horrible spelling and capitalization on display in the message.
"Complacency is your demise." - Kerry King
Next up for kendall is Wargods
Kendall Grove is my second favorite fighter. Everyone else is my favorite.
by monkeyfightclub on Jun 18, 2011 2:45 PM EDT reply actions
I think he has a wife, kid, and MMA school in Hawaii now, so it’s unlikely that he’ll migrate to a major camp and evolve as a fighter. Hope all goes well for him nonetheless. After watching the guy fight for 5 years, I can’t help but hope for the best for him.
"If I wanted to spend a half hour between two hairy legs I'd go to your mother's house." -Don Frye
by mburtoni on Jun 18, 2011 2:49 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
From his quote...
I’d almost guess he was seriously mulling retirement (passive and past tense)… if he wasn’t so young.
Grove's chin is horrendous
Why he stayed at 185 I don’t know.
Hopefully this gets the ball rolling of mediocre TUF winners finally getting cut loose.
So close and yet so far. The story of my sports fandom.
And you think would hold up better at 205? Uh, what?
by Shnak on Jun 18, 2011 3:05 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
The two statements I made are not correlated
6’6 fighters should not be at 185.
So close and yet so far. The story of my sports fandom.
I sincerely believe that if I never read this article I probably would not have noticed that he was gone from the ufc.
by casualfan1022 on Jun 18, 2011 5:16 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bloody Elbow
Related FanShots on Bloody Elbow
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
MMA Rankings
