source: www.sherdog.com
Kendall Grove announced Tuesday on his Twitter account that he will be fighting Demian Maia in a middleweight bout at “The Ultimate Fighter 12†Finale on Dec. 4 in Las Vegas.
The finale show, which crowns the next “Ultimate Fighter†from the popular reality series, will air live on Spike TV.
Hawaiian native Grove rebounded from a loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 112 in April with a split-decision victory over Croatian import Goran Reljic at UFC 116 on July 3 in Las Vegas. The 27-year-old, 6’6†middleweight was the winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 3.â€
Maia secured a unanimous decision win against Mario Miranda at UFC 118 on Aug. 28 in Boston. The 32-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has gone 2-2 in his last four Octagon appearances, which included a loss to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva last April.
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Not really sure what to think of this fight. Grove has definitely shown he can handle some top talent. He's beaten guys like Alan Belcher and the late Evan Tanner. He's also handled some pretty tough upstarts in Jake Rosholt and Mark Munoz. Out of Grove's 7 losses, he's been KO/TKO'd 5 times. The good news is he's going against Demian Maia who's not really known for his punching prowess. If Grove wins, it definitely puts him up a few notches for a title fight. However, I think Maia is too much for him. Grove's really isn't heavy handed either as he only has 2 KO/TKO's. Maia is definitely top 10 at 185lbs, and I believe it's his toughest test to date. Stylistically, these two match up with exception to height. Grove stands 6'6 and Maia 6' even. Grove does have solid BJJ and holds 7 submission victories, but I don't think it's on par with Maia's. Either someone scores a submission or it goes to the judges.
Kendall Grove announced Tuesday on his Twitter account that he will be fighting Demian Maia in a middleweight bout at “The Ultimate Fighter 12†Finale on Dec. 4 in Las Vegas.
The finale show, which crowns the next “Ultimate Fighter†from the popular reality series, will air live on Spike TV.
Hawaiian native Grove rebounded from a loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 112 in April with a split-decision victory over Croatian import Goran Reljic at UFC 116 on July 3 in Las Vegas. The 27-year-old, 6’6†middleweight was the winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 3.â€
Maia secured a unanimous decision win against Mario Miranda at UFC 118 on Aug. 28 in Boston. The 32-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has gone 2-2 in his last four Octagon appearances, which included a loss to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva last April.
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Not really sure what to think of this fight. Grove has definitely shown he can handle some top talent. He's beaten guys like Alan Belcher and the late Evan Tanner. He's also handled some pretty tough upstarts in Jake Rosholt and Mark Munoz. Out of Grove's 7 losses, he's been KO/TKO'd 5 times. The good news is he's going against Demian Maia who's not really known for his punching prowess. If Grove wins, it definitely puts him up a few notches for a title fight. However, I think Maia is too much for him. Grove's really isn't heavy handed either as he only has 2 KO/TKO's. Maia is definitely top 10 at 185lbs, and I believe it's his toughest test to date. Stylistically, these two match up with exception to height. Grove stands 6'6 and Maia 6' even. Grove does have solid BJJ and holds 7 submission victories, but I don't think it's on par with Maia's. Either someone scores a submission or it goes to the judges.