Wherever Grove May Roam
Jun 20, 2008
Kendall Grove
(Pictures)'s road to the main event is
not as he imagined it.
He imagined he would continue evolving as a fighter -- in training, in the cage -- all the way to a championship clash in a main event, just as mentor Tito Ortiz (Pictures) believed he could.
Instead, "Da Spyder" steps into the main event Saturday at "The
Ultimate Fighter" finale after two consecutive losses, and he's at
a crossroads in his career and in his life.
"Honestly, I didn't think I deserved it," says Grove of his upcoming bout with Evan Tanner (Pictures).
With an attitude that is paradoxically easygoing and eager, he stops analyzing his worth in the situation and goes into fight mode: "Hey f--- it. Let's go."
This headfirst attitude is what got Grove places as a professional fighter. A change of address from the fight-first streets of his hometown of Maui to the glamorous dirt of Sin City found Grove near real training centers for budding mixed martial artists for the first time. Missing family and friends, the beaches and pork-based diet of the Islands was a daily ritual. After all, his family and friends were the ones that had laid his path to Las Vegas.
When his mother couldn't pay for jiu-jitsu lessons during his first year of high school, Grove had to stick to wrestling despite his love for submissions. He began boxing with a shorter friend who had trained in the Sweet Science, prompting Grove to develop a style antithetical to his reach advantage.
After three years of wrestling, he turned back to jiu-jitsu. A blue belt friend rolled with him to hone their skills for street confrontations. The years of training and fighting without any payoffs -- literally and figuratively -- forced him to seek out the Mainland's fight capital.
Formerly a construction worker, Grove began working at the Tuscany Hotel while making his way in the fight world in Nevada's uncrowned capital. An unexpected pay cut of an already lowly wage left him scraping to get by. Graveyard shifts saw the future celebrity stealing apples, sodas and slices of pizza when he could.
Grove begins most of his reflective thoughts with "honestly." It could be due to his inclusive approach toward strangers. It could be because he's tired of falsities.
"Everybody wanted a piece of me, and they took it until everything was gone," he says of those interested in being around him because of the sudden fame he had found after winning "The Ultimate Fighter."
He only blames himself for his situation. The lanky middleweight's hard work ethic, which he attributes to his father, Eric -- a tile setter and Merchant Marine -- carried him to the finals of the reality show as an underdog while endearing him to legions of fervent fans. In a nonstop scrap against Team Quest staple Ed Herman (Pictures), Grove impressed the judges enough for a victory and a six-figure contract. The Island boy had become a man in front of the nation. Expectations were set as high as his 6-foot-6 frame.
A dominating win against a then-undefeated -- albeit untested -- Chris Price and securing the only Brabo choke in UFC history against a more experienced and a tough, young prospect in Alan Belcher (Pictures) placed Grove's name in the thin line of contenders at 185 pounds.
"I didn't know how to lose in the UFC. … I can honestly say it kind of got to my head," he recalls.
The spotlight that once endeared him to fight fans was no longer a blessing. When rewatching his knockout loss to Patrick Cote (Pictures) -- a sudden stop in his fast ascent -- his yes-men qualified he was winning before it happened.
"It's not how you start a fight. It's how you ended it. I matured a lot in the sport from those two losses," he says of the Cote defeat and the subsequent loss to Jorge Rivera (Pictures). "Now I fight for myself. I fight for the people who believe in me."
Grove was reminded of how far he's come to headline a UFC while he prepared for his upcoming fight. He gave up his frenetic adopted home of Las Vegas and the occasional trips to the quiet mountainsides of Big Bear, Calif., to return to his home state and train at B.J. Penn (Pictures) MMA in serene Hilo, Hawaii.
It was there he forged a bond with coach Rudy Valentino for the past three months. Between working his ground game with Reagan and J.D. Penn, Grove honed his stand-up with Valentino. He learned how to use his range effectively, developing a jab like the one B.J. employed to stop Sean Sherk (Pictures) in May while still amplifying his inside game. Despite working with the "who's who of MMA" in Las Vegas, Grove describes his time back in Hawaii as "unbelievable" training. He credits it largely to Valentino.
"He got my mind right," Grove says of the fellow Hawaii native, who teaches him about the state's history in their downtime. "He grew up the same way I grew up: fighting, learning martial arts. He loves the sport."
After relating about his time at Xtreme Couture and the brotherhood he developed with John Alessio (Pictures), Mike Pyle (Pictures) and Randy Couture (Pictures) among others, he managed to find something revitalizing in returning home.
"It's easier to train with someone you can relate to, who's been where you been, who's fought through the same struggles you've gone through," Grove says.
It furthers the dichotomy Grove encounters in his fight travels. He loves Las Vegas "because this town out here never sleeps." But he also loves Hawaii "because there's nothing to do there."
Both places have reputations for being party havens. The dual resident enjoys himself; it's just part of his disposition. However, he never put priority on parties over punching mitts. Grove asks why would he have a reason to lie about training when he got knocked out in his last two losses?
He has nothing to hide: "I got embarrassed in front of everybody! This sport is brutal. You know what I mean? If you're not winning, no one's giving you respect. That's basically how I feel right now. Now I'm fighting to get back to where I was."
It's a simple equation in his complex life. Stay smart, work technique and any fighter becomes human, as Grove learned from Tito Ortiz (Pictures). After understanding he wasn't ready for a title shot thanks to two knockout losses, after understanding about the evils of something he loved, he maintains a jovial attitude when talking about fighting.
"I'm keeping my hands up," he jokes when asked what he is going to do differently against Evan Tanner.
He feels the powerhouse wrestler possesses a nice right hand, one that dropped Rich Franklin (Pictures). Sparring mostly with MMA gloves at 80-percent capacity, Grove has taken hard shots on the chin and withstood the blows. Besides, he didn't get knocked out by chumps. They were "great competitors," and constant criticism that he lacks a sturdy chin will be answered Saturday in his mind.
"We'll find out if Evan punches me in the chin, and I go down," he says.
Grove intends to stand with Tanner, who openly admits to disliking striking.
"I'm gonna try and use my reach for once in my life, in my career," Grove adds with a laugh.
The fight is set to be another showcase of maturity for the young fighter as he takes on the battle-tested veteran. Grove learned from B.J. Penn to respect the sport, or the sport will disrespect you. Working with elite-caliber fighters around the world endows Grove with his own philosophy.
"I'm a fan before I'm a fighter, you know what I mean?" he says. "I'm just over here. … I'm privileged to be training with all these guys. I take everyday as an experience. Because this opportunity might never come again."
Still desperately awaiting for another dream to come true -- the UFC promoting a card in Hawaii -- Grove has lots on his mind. He is set to become a father of two in the next few months: father to his first child and father to his first gym. They will both be born in Maui, where Grove has returned for good. The goal for the child and the gym is the same, to provide the best environment for their respective purposes.
But before he starts to think about his two babies, he has to think about Evan Tanner.
"I just know in my heart that I have three five-minute rounds of fight and I'm gonna try and give it," Grove says. "Evan, if you can, try to stop me. And if I can, I'm gonna try and stop him. That's why we're in this game. To get our hands raised at the end of the night."
He imagined he would continue evolving as a fighter -- in training, in the cage -- all the way to a championship clash in a main event, just as mentor Tito Ortiz (Pictures) believed he could.
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"Honestly, I didn't think I deserved it," says Grove of his upcoming bout with Evan Tanner (Pictures).
Even after seeing a hotel suite compliments of the UFC and a
billboard with his fresh, recognizable face, the Hawaiian still
stands by his position. He welcomes the opportunity but doesn't
think he should be in the main slot.
With an attitude that is paradoxically easygoing and eager, he stops analyzing his worth in the situation and goes into fight mode: "Hey f--- it. Let's go."
This headfirst attitude is what got Grove places as a professional fighter. A change of address from the fight-first streets of his hometown of Maui to the glamorous dirt of Sin City found Grove near real training centers for budding mixed martial artists for the first time. Missing family and friends, the beaches and pork-based diet of the Islands was a daily ritual. After all, his family and friends were the ones that had laid his path to Las Vegas.
When his mother couldn't pay for jiu-jitsu lessons during his first year of high school, Grove had to stick to wrestling despite his love for submissions. He began boxing with a shorter friend who had trained in the Sweet Science, prompting Grove to develop a style antithetical to his reach advantage.
After three years of wrestling, he turned back to jiu-jitsu. A blue belt friend rolled with him to hone their skills for street confrontations. The years of training and fighting without any payoffs -- literally and figuratively -- forced him to seek out the Mainland's fight capital.
Formerly a construction worker, Grove began working at the Tuscany Hotel while making his way in the fight world in Nevada's uncrowned capital. An unexpected pay cut of an already lowly wage left him scraping to get by. Graveyard shifts saw the future celebrity stealing apples, sodas and slices of pizza when he could.
Grove begins most of his reflective thoughts with "honestly." It could be due to his inclusive approach toward strangers. It could be because he's tired of falsities.
"Everybody wanted a piece of me, and they took it until everything was gone," he says of those interested in being around him because of the sudden fame he had found after winning "The Ultimate Fighter."
He only blames himself for his situation. The lanky middleweight's hard work ethic, which he attributes to his father, Eric -- a tile setter and Merchant Marine -- carried him to the finals of the reality show as an underdog while endearing him to legions of fervent fans. In a nonstop scrap against Team Quest staple Ed Herman (Pictures), Grove impressed the judges enough for a victory and a six-figure contract. The Island boy had become a man in front of the nation. Expectations were set as high as his 6-foot-6 frame.
A dominating win against a then-undefeated -- albeit untested -- Chris Price and securing the only Brabo choke in UFC history against a more experienced and a tough, young prospect in Alan Belcher (Pictures) placed Grove's name in the thin line of contenders at 185 pounds.
"I didn't know how to lose in the UFC. … I can honestly say it kind of got to my head," he recalls.
The spotlight that once endeared him to fight fans was no longer a blessing. When rewatching his knockout loss to Patrick Cote (Pictures) -- a sudden stop in his fast ascent -- his yes-men qualified he was winning before it happened.
"It's not how you start a fight. It's how you ended it. I matured a lot in the sport from those two losses," he says of the Cote defeat and the subsequent loss to Jorge Rivera (Pictures). "Now I fight for myself. I fight for the people who believe in me."
Grove was reminded of how far he's come to headline a UFC while he prepared for his upcoming fight. He gave up his frenetic adopted home of Las Vegas and the occasional trips to the quiet mountainsides of Big Bear, Calif., to return to his home state and train at B.J. Penn (Pictures) MMA in serene Hilo, Hawaii.
It was there he forged a bond with coach Rudy Valentino for the past three months. Between working his ground game with Reagan and J.D. Penn, Grove honed his stand-up with Valentino. He learned how to use his range effectively, developing a jab like the one B.J. employed to stop Sean Sherk (Pictures) in May while still amplifying his inside game. Despite working with the "who's who of MMA" in Las Vegas, Grove describes his time back in Hawaii as "unbelievable" training. He credits it largely to Valentino.
"He got my mind right," Grove says of the fellow Hawaii native, who teaches him about the state's history in their downtime. "He grew up the same way I grew up: fighting, learning martial arts. He loves the sport."
After relating about his time at Xtreme Couture and the brotherhood he developed with John Alessio (Pictures), Mike Pyle (Pictures) and Randy Couture (Pictures) among others, he managed to find something revitalizing in returning home.
"It's easier to train with someone you can relate to, who's been where you been, who's fought through the same struggles you've gone through," Grove says.
It furthers the dichotomy Grove encounters in his fight travels. He loves Las Vegas "because this town out here never sleeps." But he also loves Hawaii "because there's nothing to do there."
Both places have reputations for being party havens. The dual resident enjoys himself; it's just part of his disposition. However, he never put priority on parties over punching mitts. Grove asks why would he have a reason to lie about training when he got knocked out in his last two losses?
He has nothing to hide: "I got embarrassed in front of everybody! This sport is brutal. You know what I mean? If you're not winning, no one's giving you respect. That's basically how I feel right now. Now I'm fighting to get back to where I was."
It's a simple equation in his complex life. Stay smart, work technique and any fighter becomes human, as Grove learned from Tito Ortiz (Pictures). After understanding he wasn't ready for a title shot thanks to two knockout losses, after understanding about the evils of something he loved, he maintains a jovial attitude when talking about fighting.
"I'm keeping my hands up," he jokes when asked what he is going to do differently against Evan Tanner.
He feels the powerhouse wrestler possesses a nice right hand, one that dropped Rich Franklin (Pictures). Sparring mostly with MMA gloves at 80-percent capacity, Grove has taken hard shots on the chin and withstood the blows. Besides, he didn't get knocked out by chumps. They were "great competitors," and constant criticism that he lacks a sturdy chin will be answered Saturday in his mind.
"We'll find out if Evan punches me in the chin, and I go down," he says.
Grove intends to stand with Tanner, who openly admits to disliking striking.
"I'm gonna try and use my reach for once in my life, in my career," Grove adds with a laugh.
The fight is set to be another showcase of maturity for the young fighter as he takes on the battle-tested veteran. Grove learned from B.J. Penn to respect the sport, or the sport will disrespect you. Working with elite-caliber fighters around the world endows Grove with his own philosophy.
"I'm a fan before I'm a fighter, you know what I mean?" he says. "I'm just over here. … I'm privileged to be training with all these guys. I take everyday as an experience. Because this opportunity might never come again."
Still desperately awaiting for another dream to come true -- the UFC promoting a card in Hawaii -- Grove has lots on his mind. He is set to become a father of two in the next few months: father to his first child and father to his first gym. They will both be born in Maui, where Grove has returned for good. The goal for the child and the gym is the same, to provide the best environment for their respective purposes.
But before he starts to think about his two babies, he has to think about Evan Tanner.
"I just know in my heart that I have three five-minute rounds of fight and I'm gonna try and give it," Grove says. "Evan, if you can, try to stop me. And if I can, I'm gonna try and stop him. That's why we're in this game. To get our hands raised at the end of the night."
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