Tag: Kendall Grove

‘ProElite 3: Grove vs. Minowa’: Simply Put, It Was an Improvement

Brent Schermerhorn vs. Kaleo Gambill, the lone knockout from the main card. All videos props to IronForgesIron.com

When we last checked in on ProElite, the promotion was in the midst of a heavyweight grand prix that had the announcer for the evening tweeting mid-bout that he was falling asleep. Mix in unimpressive victories for Tim Sylvia and Andre Arlovski, and a disappointing performance from Reagan Penn, and the phrase “rock bottom” comes to mind. Things could have gotten more boring, sure. But if they did, we wouldn’t waste time telling you about it.

Needless to say ProElite’s third installment, which took place last night in Hawaii, was a step in the right direction. While the main event and co-main event were nothing to write home about, the card saw some entertaining fights and quick finishes.

In the evening’s main event, Minowa started out strong, landing leg kicks against Kendall Grove and securing a takedown at the end of the round. However, Grove was able to find his range by the second round, and outpointed Minowa en route to a unanimous decision. We don’t know how much time Minowa spent training against a person sitting on someone else’s shoulders poking at him with sticks in preparation for his American debut, but our guess is “not enough”.


Brent Schermerhorn vs. Kaleo Gambill, the lone knockout from the main card. All videos props to IronForgesIron.com

When we last checked in on ProElite, the promotion was in the midst of a heavyweight grand prix that had the announcer for the evening tweeting mid-bout that he was falling asleep. Mix in unimpressive victories for Tim Sylvia and Andre Arlovski, and a disappointing performance from Reagan Penn, and the phrase “rock bottom” comes to mind. Things could have gotten more boring, sure. But if they did, we wouldn’t waste time telling you about it.

Needless to say ProElite’s third installment, which took place last night in Hawaii, was a step in the right direction. While the main event and co-main event were nothing to write home about, the card saw some entertaining fights and quick finishes.

In the evening’s main event, Minowa was ineffective against Kendall Grove. Minowa’s only significant output was some leg kicks at the beginning of the first round and a takedown at the end of the round. For the rest of the fight, Grove was able to keep him outside and outpointed him en route to a unanimous decision. We don’t know how much time Minowa spent training against a person sitting on someone else’s shoulders poking at him with sticks in preparation for his American debut, but our guess is “not enough”.

The co-main event pitted Olympic wrestler Sara McMann against one-time Cyborg victim Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano. Sara McMann grinded out the unanimous decision victory against her more experienced opponent. The less we say about that one, the better.

While the heavyweight grand prix yielded some unspeakably boring fights the first time around, the heavyweights put on a much better show this time around. In tournament action, Jake Heun started out strong against Richard Odoms, slamming the heavier opponent and attempting submissions. Heun got the better of Odoms throughout the fight, but gassed out in the second round, allowing Odoms to secure the fight ending choke. Richard Odoms will meet Ryan Martinez, who outpointed Cody Griffin on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Main Card Results:

Kendall Grove def. Ikuhisa Minowa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Sara McMann def. Hitomi Akano via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Richard Odoms def. Jake Heun via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:56 – Odoms advances to heavyweight grand prix final
Ryan Martinez def. Cody Griffin via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) – Martinez advances to heavyweight grand prix final
Patrick Cummins def. Tasi Edwards via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:01
Brant Schermerhorn def. Kaleo Gambill via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:45


Griffin vs. Martinez


Heun vs. Odoms


Grove vs. Minowa

ProElite 3 Results: Minowaman No Match for Grove

Filed under: ProEliteFormer Ultimate Fighter winner Kendall Grove took an easy unanimous decision over Ikuhisa Minowa in the main event of Saturday night’s ProElite 3 event in Hawaii.

The fight wasn’t much of a contest: Grove was clearly the superior …

Filed under:

Former Ultimate Fighter winner Kendall Grove took an easy unanimous decision over Ikuhisa Minowa in the main event of Saturday night’s ProElite 3 event in Hawaii.

The fight wasn’t much of a contest: Grove was clearly the superior fighter from start to finish, and he spent most of the bout in a dominant position on the ground, never coming close to finishing Minowaman but also never being in any danger of losing. All three judges scored it 30-27 for Grove.

“I should have finished him but he’s a tough legend and it’s a privilege for me to fight a guy like Minowa,” Grove said afterward.

It was the 93rd fight of Minowaman’s MMA career — and his first in the United States — and it was a reminder that he’s better suited for fighting the likes of Bob Sapp and Hong Man Choi than he is at fighting good opponents of his own size under North American rules. For Grove it was a decent win, but not the kind of performance that will get him back in the UFC.

In the semifinals of ProElite’s heavyweight tournament, Ryan Martinez beat Cody Griffin by unanimous decision, 30-27 on two cards and 29-28 on the other, in a fight that had brief spurts of action but long stretches of inaction. And in the other semifinal, Richard Odoms bounced back after struggling early and forced Jake Heun to tap out to a neck crank.

Olympic wrestling silver medalist Sara McMann got the biggest win of her MMA career, beating Hitomi Akano by unanimous decision. The fight was mostly a stalemate on the ground, but McMann was the one taking the fight there and staying on top, and so it was no surprise that all three judges gave McMann all three rounds of the fight.

In other ProElite action, Pat Cummins had an easy time with Tasi Edwards, dominating him on the ground and submitting him with an arm-triangle choke in the first round. And in the first fight on the televised HDNet card, Brent Schermerhorn knocked Kaleo Gambill out cold with a brutal left hook to the chin in a fight that lasted just 45 seconds.

 

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Lindsay Lohan’s Playboy Issue Brings You the Fix Friday Link Dump

Well if you’re disappointed ’cause you want to see naked pictures of the extremely well-adjusted actress celebrity young lady, Lindsay Lohan, I apologize we cannot show you the pictures on our site, because we would.

Well if you’re disappointed ’cause you want to see naked pictures of the extremely well-adjusted actress celebrity young lady, Lindsay Lohan, I apologize we cannot show you the pictures on our site, because we would be ordered to cease and desist the leaked pictures, so instead here are some brave links that will show you: here and here. Meanwhile, if you want to find the latest MMA-related link dumps, keep reading below:

Mike Pierce to face Josh Koscheck at UFC 143.

Why Dana White released Miguel Torres from the UFC and not Forrest Griffin or Rashad Evans: here.

Miguel Torres apologizes for controversial tweet, will take the opportunity to better himself: here.

Scott Jorgenson vs. Renen Barao added to UFC 143 card.

Antonio Rodrigo “Big Nog” Nogueira is not exactly eager for a title-shot: here.

Frank Mir picks Brock Lesnar to beat Alistair Overeem: here.

UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida weigh-in results: here.

Kendall Grove vs. Ikuhisa Minowa at ProElite: Da Spyder vs. The Punk on January 21st.

The effects of concussions on Mixed Martial Artists: here.

Awesomely, Minowaman Will Be Fighting Kendall Grove in Hawaii

butterbean eric esch minowaman ikuhisa minowa mma photos
(Avenge us, Kendall. AVENGE US.)

Remember yesterday when we found that amazing drawing of Ikuhisa Minowa fighting Godzilla, and used it as an excuse to run a relatively pointless post confirming that Minowaman would not, in fact, be fighting Brian Stann at UFC 144? Man, the crazy antics we get up to when nobody’s watching.

The thing is, we actually have some legit news to pass along about DREAM’s reigning Super Hluk [sic] champion. MMAFighting is reporting that Minowa will make his U.S. MMA debut at ProElite 3 (January 21st, Honolulu) where he’ll face rangy UFC veteran Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove. Okay, so it’s not the kind of freak-show matchup we’re used to seeing from Minowaman — but at least Grove is really tall for a middleweight.

butterbean eric esch minowaman ikuhisa minowa mma photos
(Avenge us, Kendall. AVENGE US.)

Remember yesterday when we found that amazing drawing of Ikuhisa Minowa fighting Godzilla, and used it as an excuse to run a relatively pointless post confirming that Minowaman would not, in fact, be fighting Brian Stann at UFC 144? Man, the crazy antics we get up to when nobody’s watching.

The thing is, we actually have some legit news to pass along about DREAM’s reigning Super Hluk [sic] champion. MMAFighting is reporting that Minowa will make his U.S. MMA debut at ProElite 3 (January 21st, Honolulu) where he’ll face rangy UFC veteran Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove. Okay, so it’s not the kind of freak-show matchup we’re used to seeing from Minowaman — but at least Grove is really tall for a middleweight.

After being released by the UFC earlier this year following back-to-back decision losses to Demian Maia and Tim Boetsch, Grove rebounded at Pro Elite 1 in August, choking out Joe Riggs in 59 seconds. Meanwhile, Minowa has won his last four fights in Japan against opponents who had a combined record of 4-4-1 and a combined weight of 869 pounds.

Minowa has reportedly signed a three-fight North American exclusive deal with ProElite. His debut appearance at ProElite 3 will be just the third time that Minowa has competed outside of Asia in his 91-fight career, and his first fight in the United States. And here’s another fun fact that I just learned on his Wikipedia page: Ikuhisa Minowa put together a record of 1-8-1 in his first ten fights. And now he’s a minor MMA legend. The moral of the story? Don’t give up, Lionheart.

Kendall Grove vs. Ikuhisa Minowa Targeted for ProElite 3

Filed under: News, ProEliteFormer UFC middleweight Kendall Grove will meet Ikuhisa Minowa at ProElite 3 on Jan. 21 in Hawaii, MMAFighting.com has learned from sources close to the fighters. When contacted by MMAFighting.com, ProElite head of fight oper…

Filed under: ,

Former UFC middleweight Kendall Grove will meet Ikuhisa Minowa at ProElite 3 on Jan. 21 in Hawaii, MMAFighting.com has learned from sources close to the fighters. When contacted by MMAFighting.com, ProElite head of fight operations T. Jay Thompson would not confirm or deny the upcoming fight.

While not officially announced, ProElite 3 is scheduled to be held at the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, HI, site of ProElite 1.

According to sources close to the Japanese fighter, Minowa has signed a three-fight North American exclusive deal with ProElite.

Minowa, a 51-32-8 veteran of the sport, will be making his debut for ProElite as a middleweight. He has fought for Pancrase, PRIDE, DEEP, DREAM, and once in the UFC. The popular and charismatic Japanese fighter, nicknamed “The Punk” and “Minowaman,” among other names, has won his last four fights in a row.


The 29-year-old Grove got back on the winning track when he defeated Joe Riggs at ProElite 1 in August. That fight marked his first since his release from the UFC following a second straight loss. The season 3 TUF winner ended his UFC run with a 7-6 record.

Also rumored for the Jan. 21 event is the return of Sara Mcmann and the semi-finals of the promotion’s heavyweight tournament.

 

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UFC’s BJ Penn Will See a Positive Result in Reagan Penn, Kendall Grove’s Success

While BJ “The Prodigy” Penn (16-7-2 MMA, 12-6-2 UFC) has been in the news this week regarding his status at UFC 13, it is the former UFC champion’s younger brother who most recently claimed victory.Reagan Penn (1-0 MMA), the younger brother of “The Pro…

While BJ “The Prodigy” Penn (16-7-2 MMA, 12-6-2 UFC) has been in the news this week regarding his status at UFC 13, it is the former UFC champion’s younger brother who most recently claimed victory.

Reagan Penn (1-0 MMA), the younger brother of “The Prodigy,” made his professional fighting debut last month at ProElite 1 in Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Reagan showcased his superior submission skills in handing opponent Paul Gardiner his first professional loss.

Needless to say, Reagan put the years of training with his legendary brother to good use.

Additionally, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner Kendall Grove (13-9 MMA) claimed victory in his first post-UFC action.

Grove faced fellow UFC veteran Joe Riggs, and it took Grove just 59 seconds to avenge a 2004 loss to Riggs.

The momentum that has been built by the younger Penn and Grove will surely have a positive effect on BJ’s preparation for UFC 137, which takes place Oct. 29 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

BJ was originally slated to face Carlos Condit, but after Nick Diaz went missing in action and skipped multiple press conferences, Condit was promoted to headline opposite Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre.

24 hours later, UFC President Dana White announced the news that BJ now faces Diaz in the co-headliner.

With a positive training atmosphere surrounding him, BJ appears primed for another run at championship gold.

The RVCA Sport Center in California is where the Hawaiian will spend his remaining weeks of preparation for the highly anticipated fight.

As seen in the video, the Penn brothers along with Grove, Justin McCully, and Troy Mandaloniz have formed one the sport’s most underrated teams.

For additional information, follow Joshua Carey on Twitter.

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