The Lowdown 07.18.09: Ricardo Almeida and Kendall Grove
Posted by Frank Fedele on 07.18.2009
Last week we looked at young fighter Jon Jones and the matchups for UFC 100. Join us this week as we cover one of the matchups in UFC 101 in the Middleweight division, Ricardo Almeida and Kendall Grove. We will also look back at UFC 100 and more.
Last Week Roundup
Jon Jones won in his fight in UFC 100 on the prelim card with a guillotine choke in the 2nd round over Jake O'Brien. None of the fights on the main card ran short, so none of the prelim fights were shown on the PPV broadcast. If Jones continues his winning ways, he will work his way up to the main card in no time.
UFC 100 was a pretty exciting card with a couple of memorable knockouts at the top of the card. The card started out with a controversial decision for Yoshihiro Akiyama over Alan Belcher. From my seat, it looked like Belcher won the fight barely but I could see giving the decision to Akiyama. The surprising part of the decision for me was that one judge gave all three rounds to Akiyama. Not sure what they were watching as Belcher clearly won the 2nd round. The decision is good for the UFC though as they just brought Akiyama over from Japan and needed him to start well. We shall see if his next bout goes as well.
Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping met in the next bout and Bisping's game plan confused the heck out of me. He refused to engage Henderson and just moved away from the action. He didn't move to another angle to set up his striking, he just moved. It came back to bite him as he moved right into a shot by Henderson that knocked him out. Henderson added a forearm to the face as he fell just to seal the deal. Bisping really needs to work on his game so he can stay relevant. He just did not look good here.
Georges St. Pierre and Thiago Alves met next. Alves so respected St. Pierre's ground game that he refused to move in to work his striking. He survived five rounds with St. Pierre, but never really hurt him. St. Pierre seemed to hurt himself with a pull or tear of his groin. Can I just say ouch? The amazing thing is he fought for two rounds with this injury.
Brock Lesnar beat the holy hell out for Frank Mir in the next bout. Mir could do nothing and Lesnar pounded him out in the 2nd round leaving him a bloody mess. Lesnar then managed to piss off the crowd in Las Vegas by flipping them off and the sponsor Bud Light in his crazy post fight talk with Joe Rogan. After a talk with Dana White, all was well in his interview later in the evening where he apologizes and had a Bud Light in front of him during the whole interview. Lesnar looked very impressive and I wonder who in the heavyweight division can cause him issues in the coming years.
Jon Fitch and Paulo Thiago actually fought after the main event in a slow fight with not too much action. Fitch did take the decision and did what he could. Thiago looked tentative and really didn't show what he was capable. Hopefully his next bout will be better.
Kendall Grove
Kendall Grove burst on the MMA scene in the Ultimate Fighter 3 in Tito Ortiz's camp. Grove eventually won the event and a UFC contract. Grove was born in Maui, Hawaii in 1982 and began MMA training after his high school wrestling career ended. Grove trained with Tito Ortiz in Team Punishments camp and that did not seem to do the trick for him. After winning his first two fights, he lost two in a row against Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera. After Grove lost to Rivera, he changed camps moving back to his native Hawaii to train with B.J. Penn. Grove has been on a two fight winning streak since training with Penn, beating Evan Tanner and Jason Day. Grove is at home on his feet or on the ground, striking with knees and fists on his feet and working submissions when he is on the ground. Grove is a tall middleweight at 6' 6" and uses his long limbs to work his submissions on the ground and make sure his strikes hit first on his feet. He presents trouble to any Middleweight and seems to be on a streak of late.
Kendall Grove
Grove's Fight Record
Kendall Grove's MMA Record Middleweight
2003
KFC3: Island Pride – Win versus Tripstin Kersiano by Submission (Triangle Choke) in the 1st round
2004
SB 34: Super Brawl 34 – Win versus Kaipo Kalama by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in the 2nd round
ROTR 5: Rumble on the Rock 5 – Loss to Joe Riggs by KO in the 1st round
TC 6: Total Combat 6 – No contest versus Ricky Gunz
2005
TC 7: Total Combat 7 – Win versus Matt Hendricks by TKO in the 2nd round
LIP 1: Lockdown in Paradise 1 – Loss to Savant Young by Submission in the 1st round
TC8: Total Combat 8 – Win versus Matt Gidney by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in the 1st round
KOTC: Mortal Sins – Win versus Hector Ramirez by KO in the 1st round
ROTR: Showdown in Maui – Win versus Jay Carter by Submission (Triangle Choke) in the 1st round
2006
The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale – Win versus Ed Herman by Decision
Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter – Win versus Chris Price by Submission (Strikes) in the 1st round
2007
UFC 69: Shootout – Win versus Alan Belcher by Submission (D'Arce Choke) in the 2nd round
UFC 74: Respect – Loss to Patrick Cote by KO in the 1st round
2008
UFC 80: Rapid Fire – Loss to Jorge Rivera by KO in the 1st round
The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale – Win versus Evan Tanner by Decision
2009
UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine – Win versus Jason Day by KO in the 1st round
Kendall Grove vs. Jason Day
As you can see from Grove's record, he is equally deadly with his strikes and his submissions. He prefers to win by submission with a choke, but you need to honor his strikes also. If he works his game and uses his height to strike from distance and work his submissions when the fight goes to the ground, he could cause trouble for fellow fighters in the Middleweight division.
Ricardo Almeida
Ricardo Almeida is an American fighter fighting out of New Jersey. Almeida is a premier grappler, earning his third degree in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie. Almeida has fought in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) grappling tournaments in the late 90's and early 2000's, earning as high as a 2nd place finish. Almeida started his career in Japan, fighting in Pride. He then moved to the UFC for three bouts going 1-2. This record didn't keep him in the UFC and he moved back to Japan to fight in Pancrase and Pride for a bit. His record in Japan was much better and earned him another shot at the UFC in 2008. He has done much better this time with a 3-1 record, only falling to Patrick Cote.
Ricardo Almeida
Almeida's Fight Record
Ricardo Almeida's MMA Record Middleweight
2000
Pride 12: Cold Fury – Win versus Akira Shoji by decision
2001
UFC 31: Locked and Loaded – Loss to Matt Lindland by DQ
UFC 33: Victory in Vegas – Win versus Eugene Jackson by Submission (Triangle Choke) in the 1st round
2002
UFC 35: Throwdown – Loss to Andrei Semenov by TKO in the 2nd round
Pancrase: Spirit 8 – Win versus Osami Shibuya by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in the 1st round
2003
Pancrase: Hybrid 2 – Win versus Ikuhisa Minowa by Decision
Pancrase: Hybrid 4 – Win versus Yuki Sasaki by Decision
Pancrase: 10th Anniversary Show – Win versus Kazuo Misaki by Decision
2004
PRIDE: Bushido 3 – Win versus Ryo Chonan by Decision
2008
UFC 81: Breaking Point – Win versus Rob Yundt by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in the 1st round
UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin – Loss to Patrick Cote by Decision
2009
UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann – Win versus Matt Horwich by Decision
Ricardo Almeida versus Matt Horwich
You may notice a trend here with either a decision or a submission victory. The submissions are not a surprise as he is a Jiu Jitsu black belt and has fought many times in grappling tournaments. His striking is decent, but not great. He will throw his hands but will only to set up takedowns. If he can get his opponent on the mat, he can do well.
Final Thoughts
UFC 100 was an enjoyable event and UFC 101 is shaping up well also. It has a bout for the submission lover with B.J. Penn taking on Kenny Florian. Both have amazing Jiu Jitsu and Penn's striking has been good of late. It will be an interesting bout. There is also a bout for those who love the good old fashion slugfest, with Forrest Griffin taking on Anderson Silva. Both these guys hit hard and Griffin has an iron chin. It will be interesting to see if Silva can knock him out.
That is all for this week everybody please come back next week where we will get the lowdown on some MMA fighters that will be fighting soon. Please take the time to bookmark 411mania.com. One quick step and all the news you need is but a click away.
