Boetsch manhandled The Ultimate Fighter season three champion, utilizing superior strength and wrestling ability to take down Grove repeatedly and control him for a majority of the fight. Grove threatened with submission attempts in only two instances during the entire fifteen minutes inside the Octagon. Most of his energy was spent attempting to get back to his feet as Boetsch transitioned to more dominant positions on the ground. Unfortunately, Grove didn't have the skills to counter Boetsch's skills or physical traits.
Grove has had a roller coaster ride with the UFC over the last two years. He was 2-3 in his last five appearances before tonight, dropping decisions to Demian Maia and Ricardo Almeida and succumbing to strikes from Mark Munoz. He submitted Jake Rosholt via triangle choke at UFC 106 and narrowly edged Goran Reljic via split decision at UFC 116. He was one of the fighters on this card whose contract status with the UFC was in the spotlight, telling many media members that this was a must-win for him. It looks like this may be the last we see of him.
Boetsch first appeared with the promotion in February of 2008, manhandling UFC veteran David Heath in only 4:52 seconds. He returned at UFC Fight Night 13, losing via TKO to UFC 130 headliner Matt Hamill. Boetsch rebounded with a win over Michael Patt, but lost a decision to Jason Brilz at UFC 96 that sent him packing. Three straight wins later, he resurfaced with the UFC in August, defeating Todd Brown via decision, then served as a stepping stone for hot prospect Phil Davis at UFC 123, losing by kimura in the second round of action.
