Three weeks after dropping his second straight fight, Kendall Grove has been released by the UFC.
The Season 3 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” broke the news on his Facebook page. Grove suffered a unanimous decision loss to Tim Boetsch at UFC 130 last month. Before that, he dropped a decision to Demian Maia at the TUF 12 Finale in December.
He becomes the third TUF winner to be cut by the promotion. Season 8 winner Efrain Escudero and Season 4 winner Travis Lutter also were released by the organization.
Grove (12-9, 1 NC, 7-6 UFC), from Hawaii, has fallen into a rough stretch in the UFC’s middleweight division the last year, dropping three of his last four fights. His only win was a split decision over Goran Reljic at UFC 116 last July. He did, however, have a Fight of the Night performance in a loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 112.
Grove has not won consecutive fights since a split decision over the late Evan Tanner at the TUF 7 Finale in June 2008 and a TKO of Jason Day at UFC 96 in March 2009.
After winning TUF 3 with a unanimous decision victory over Ed Herman in June 2006, Grove won his next two UFC fights. But since that three-fight UFC winning streak, he has been up and down, going 4-6.
LAS VEGAS – Both Ed Herman and Tim Credeur had to have had some jitters heading into their fight Saturday. With both out of action for nearly two years, some cage rust would be expected.
But if Herman had any, he shook it off quickly – and is glad he…
LAS VEGAS – Both Ed Herman and Tim Credeur had to have had some jitters heading into their fight Saturday. With both out of action for nearly two years, some cage rust would be expected.
But if Herman had any, he shook it off quickly – and is glad he did. Herman, back for the first time since August 2009, and coming off two knee surgeries, shut down Credeur with a big first-round TKO. And he’s already talking about putting himself in a position to contend in the middleweight division.
“I’m just so excited to be back and prove that I belong here still,” Herman said. “The life-changing injury – I’m just excited to be back in the middleweight division and excited to make a run.”
Herman (20-7, 5-5 UFC) has had an up-and-down UFC career following his loss in the TUF 3 title bout to Kendall Grove. But after being out of action for so long, it was his original jumping-off point – “The Ultimate Fighter” – that may have jumpstarted his career on Saturday night at the TUF 13 Finale.
“It was cool to be here on the Finale with the guys coming off Season 13 – 10 seasons after mine is kind of crazy,” Hermand said. “It meant a lot, and it gave me the opportunity to be on the main card. If it was a big pay-per-view, I may not have had that opportunity. So to get out there and let people know I’m still fighting – when you’re not on TV for a while, people kind of forget you – it was good to have that opportunity.”
Herman even said he would love to work his way toward a rematch with Grove and had mixed feelings about his TUF 3 Finale opponent’s loss to Tim Boetsch last week at UFC 130.
“I was a little bummed (that Grove lost),” Herman said. “I was hoping he could go on a run, too, so we could have a big rematch and get some hype behind it. I was bummed to see him lose, but at the same time I’ve trained with Tim, so I was glad to see him win.”
While Herman likely would have taken a win any way it would come on Saturday night, he said getting a knockout – and so quickly – makes his return extra special.
“I saw him crumble and his eyes roll in the back of his head,” Herman said. “The win is unreal – a dream come true for me. After being out two years with injury and really starting to question myself, it feels great to show the UFC I still have what it takes.”
We caught up with Ed Herman as he prepares to fight Tim Credeur this weekend at the TUF 13 Finale. Herman is healthy from an knee injury that’s kept him out of the cage for.
We caught up with Ed Herman as he prepares to fight Tim Credeur this weekend at the TUF 13 Finale. Herman is healthy from an knee injury that’s kept him out of the cage for almost 2 years. He reflects on his TUF 3 season and is still surprised Kalib Starnes was not successful in the UFC. Herman also mentions he’s been getting lots of hugs from Credeur this week.
Our host, Steve Cofield also talks to Tim Credeur who himself hasn’t fought for over a year and a half due to an abnormal brain scan which has since been cleared as a sort of “freckle” on the brain. Credeur likes showing Herman his love. Watch the videos below:
UFC Middleweight and TUF 3 Champion, Kendall Grove says he asked matchmaker Joe Silva for a fight with Demian Maia because he is at a point in his career where he only wants to fight the best. Grove doesn’t think the caliber of fighters he’s beaten lately mean much to advancing him up […]
UFC Middleweight and TUF 3 Champion, Kendall Grove says he asked matchmaker Joe Silva for a fight with Demian Maia because he is at a point in his career where he only wants to fight the best. Grove doesn’t think the caliber of fighters he’s beaten lately mean much to advancing him up the ranks or testing his true abilities. Whether he wins or loses he wants to see what he can do against a respected talent like Maia.
As Grove has been fighting in the UFC since 2006, RawVegas.tv thought they would test his cognitive skills and see if he could answer a few trivia questions to gauge how the years of fighting have effected him. Grove says he’s a “dumb fighter” and didn’t expect to know the answers… Watch full video below:
Three weeks after dropping his second straight fight, Kendall Grove has been released by the UFC. 
LAS VEGAS – Both