Hawaii’s Kendall Grove is the Ultimate Fighter !

Story by Rob Monroe – editor MMA Hawaii

Saturday nights Ultimate Fighter finale of the TUF 3 series on spike pitted Maui Hawaii’s Kendall Grove vs. Team Quest fighter Ed Herman for the much sought after six figure contract with the UFC.

In what turned out to be yet another epic battle in the finals of the popular reality series Kendall Grove edged out a razor close decision over Ed Herman.

Grove used his lanky 6’ 6” frame to cause problems for the much smaller Herman. It was apparent from the outset that the time Grove spent training with coach Tito Ortiz both during the reality series and following the series has paid off with huge dividends. Following the end of the taping of the reality series Ortiz invited Grove to train with him for his upcoming match against opposing coach Ken Sharmrock. Grove has made huge improvements in his game under Ortiz’s tutelage.

Although Herman was the odds on favorite to win the match, Grove was able to gut out a tough, tough win. It did not look good for Grove in the first round as Herman used solid takedowns and a good ground and pound game to take the first round fairly easily. Ortiz’s conditioning program may have just been the difference for Grove. Herman was fading as the fight went on and Grove started to control the fight. Herman stayed tough and the two traded submission attempts back and forth. At one point Herman had a tight triangle on Grove and to some it appeared that Grove was very, very close to tapping out. Many even thought that Grove may have tapped and then stopped. After reviewing the replay over and over it did look as if Grove was starting to tap and stopped. The referee made the right call in not jumping in.

The end of the third round had Grove with his hooks sunk in on Herman and was very near ending the fight with a rear naked choke. The bell ended the bout and Grove was awarded the win and the six figure contract with the UFC. The three judges cards read the same 29-28 for Grove. The fight once again was a back and forth war reminiscent of TUF 2 series Stephan Bonner and Forrest Griffin bout. UFC President Dana White realized this and also awarded Ed Herman a six figure contract. There were no losers in this bout that’s for sure. Congratulations to Kendall for representing Hawaii well.

The balance of the main card below:

-Keith Jardine def. Wilson Gouveia by unanimous decision

-Kendall Grove def. Ed Herman by unanimous decision

-Michael Bisping def. Josh Haynes by TKO (referee stoppage) at 4:14 of Round 2

-Kenny Forian def. Sam Stout by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:46 of Round 1