MMA Authority Blog Exclusive: Kendall Grove Interview

ITC: This is Kalin Johnston from “Inside the Cage” with Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove. Kendall, how are you doing?

KG: Doing good, doing good, back home on Maui, got my daughter, got my fiancé, just happy to be home, can't wait to go teach class in an hour.

ITC: What does your fiancé think about you fighting?

KG: She likes it, she enjoys it, she knows it makes me happy, it’s a job.

ITC: There were rumors going into your fight Saturday that if you lost you might be cut from the UFC, how great did it feel to pick up that knockout in the first two minutes of the first round?

KG: It felt real good, it’s my first knockout, I’m just happy all that hard work paid off, I trained hard for this fight, and like I said I’m just very privileged that all that hard work paid off.

ITC: Congratulations on your knockout. In your fight I noticed that you were wearing a patch on the left side of your torso, what was that for?

KG: It’s like a Japanese patch, it helps me cut weight , gives me some energy, Ginseng stuff, and I just forgot to take it off (laughs.)

ITC: How has training with BJ Penn helped you as a fighter?

KG: Training with BJ helped me out a lot. He is very motivational, he is one of my heroes in the game. Just for him to be there in my corner and training with him, I couldn’t be any happier.

ITC: I know you have trained with Tito Ortiz in the past. He mentioned a comeback, do you know if he might be coming back to UFC, or staying with Affliction, or what his plans are on that?

KG: I really don’t know what his real plans is with that. There are no guarantees and I really don’t like saying anything because I really don’t know. He just had back surgery and said he’s been good, I seen him in Ohio and he told me he can’t wait to get back in there.

ITC: I was actually at UFC 96 when you got your knock out, I saw you doing your grave digging celebration, a lot of people don’t really seem to like that, but to me it shows that you are showing respect to Tito when you do that, so I was wondering if you could clear up for us where that celebration comes from?

KG: The ending of it comes from Tito, he did it against Evan Tanner, and me and Solomon from Team Dagger, we kinda made that up. We called it the dagger dance. So yeah, we just started running with that. I wasn’t going to do it but it just came out (laughs).

ITC: Throughout your career as a fighter, which fight has meant the most to you?

KG: I would say my Evan Tanner fight.

ITC: How does it feel to know you were the last person to fight him before his death?

KG: It kinda sucks, but to fight a well accomplished fighter like Tanner and come out with the win…I was just privileged to get in there with him, I mean he is such a good fighter, he has been around the game a long time, so when I had the opportunity to fight him, I took it. I knew it would be a good test for me.

ITC: If you could fight any fighter in the UFC, who would be your dream match up?

KG: Would have to be Anderson (laughs)

ITC: On the night of your fights, what is usually your pre fight routine?

KG: The night of my fights I like to stay in, go eat some sushi, and just watch a movie.

ITC: My last question for you is, you have a lot of unique tattoos, which is your favorite and what is the story behind it?

KG: My favorite tattoo would have to be King Kamehameha on my back. He was the chief who united all the islands together. It means a lot to me because it took five hours and I can’t say it was the worse pain of my life but it did hurt, the worse tattoo that I got pain wise. He was the king of Hawaii, he is a warrior, so when I go in there I like to try to be the same.

ITC: Thank you for taking the time for this interview, is there any closing statements that you would like to say for your fans:

KG: Yeah, just thank you to all my fans, my fans that have been behind me one hundred percent through all the ups and downs in my career, and to my sponsors Punishment, Cage Fighter, Approved Electric, Lopez Construction, just thanks for all the help and the support. And Mickey’s Malt Liquor for putting me on a beer can (laughs).