"They're giving us a bad name. F@#king fight. If you want to act, go to Hollywood. That's life though. It is what it is; you do you and I'm going to do me. At the end of the day, that's all you can do. I might not support some of the stuff, but at the end of the day, that's just my f@#king opinion. I wouldn't mind fighting those fags to show them what fighting is about," stated UFC middleweight Kendall Grove as he talked about some of the recent and current crop of Ultimate Fighters. Check out what else he had to say he shares his thoughts on Even Tanner, his future plans and much more.
PC: I saw your pictures on your Myspace of baby Khloe, your beautiful daughter. How is she doing?
KG: She's doing good. She's growing. She's 2 months now and is 2 feet.
PC: Damn!
KG: Yeah, she's getting bigger every day and she is a blessing from God.
PC: How do you see her changing your life?
KG: I definitely don't go out. Once in a great while I will, but she's motivated me to hustle.
PC: Are you getting any sleep since Khloe has been here?
KG: Yeah! She is a solid baby. She sleeps through the whole night now. If she goes to bed early, like last night, she will sleep until about 5:00 or 6:00 and if she goes to bed at about 10:00-10:30, she will sleep until 7 or 8:00 and I'm usually up by then. She's solid, she's cool and she only cries when something is wrong, but that's usually how babies are. I'm on it, trying to be "The Ultimate Dad."
PC: I know you were looking forward to the move. How is it being back in Hawaii?
KG: I love it. I'm with all of my family and friends. My daughter is here and my family is the best. I have 2 of my best friends out here helping me run our school in Justin McCully and Troy Mandaloniz so I'm definitely happy. I don't have to worry about nothing. If I feel like shit, it's a 5-minute drive up in the mountains and I can jump in the river. I'm home again!
PC: I & I Training Center opened up last Saturday. How did the Grand Opening go?
KG: Yes, it opened up Saturday and our first class was Monday and we did pretty good. We had a good solid positive turnout and we have a lot of talent; especially our kids. We had kids throwing up armbars and triangles and I'm like, "Have you ever trained before?" A lot of them had never trained before; just said that they watch it a lot on TV and mess around with their friends from time to time. For them to have never trained before, it showed me that we have a lot of natural, raw talent. I'm stoked because hopefully we could introduce them to organizations and let all of these Hawaii boys shine.
PC: It's crazy because back when I was coming up, and I'm 28 so that wasn't that long ago, kids were anxious to try out for football and basketball. Now we see all of these kids in the martial arts gyms. Do you think this is the new wave?
KG: Oh yes! If the world don't end soon, I see mixed martial arts being in school like a PE subject and a high school sport. I want to see MMA in the Olympics. I'm a fighter and I love to fight and I think it is the greatest sport. It is definitely the fastest growing sport. You see housewives that have never had a fight in their life that are fans of the sport and that's crazy. I love it! It's good for us and it's good for business.
PC: What can people that visit your gym expect to see and where can they find more information on the gym?
KG: For more information, they could call Muscle Factory at 808.244.8882. They can expect a full fitness facility. Our gym is inside of like a 24-hour fitness building. We have lockers, showers, and a sauna and on top of that, we have every type of machine that makes you physically fit. We have weights, treadmills, cardio bikes and stairmasters. Basically anything that you can imagine and we're right there smack dead in the middle. We offer a positive, solid environment to train. We have 3 UFC veterans in there, Justin McCully, who has been in MMA since '95 and has fought all over the world and has that much experience, Troy Mandaloniz, who started with BJ and is the referee for Rumble on the Rock and has officiated over 100 matches, and myself, Maui boy, who won The Ultimate Fighter and has trained with some of the best champions the UFC has.
PC: I know BJ is a mentor of yours. How much has he helped in this process?
KG: BJ is the man. I don't just say that because he's from Hawaii, but he's the man. Look what he's done in the sport. Just being around the guy is unreal. His mindset and how he thinks about this game
every time I go to train, I think about one thing he said and that's, "If you disrespect the sport, the sport is going to disrespect you!" And that's the truest thing he could have ever said and that's with anything in life. With fighting, you have to respect it and know what could happen to you and embrace the risk.
PC: When are you looking to get back inside of the Octagon?
KG: Probably late February or early March. Hopefully February. I'll start training again here soon and will be ready to go early 2009. I've been going non-stop for about 3 years. I've been non-stop since like a year before the show to now. I was just training and fighting, but now I had my daughter and I opened my school and I definitely underestimated the work that goes into opening a school. It's a lot more work than I imagined. It only makes me stronger as a person and as a businessman.
PC: Do you like Pat Cote's chances against Anderson Silva?
KG: He has a chance. Everybody has a chance, whether it's a punchers chance or not. It's a fight. Everybody's human. Anderson is on and he's been on ever since he stepped inside of the Octagon. It could be that day for him, but also, it could not be (laughing). I think Anderson is going to come out with it. He's more technically sound and he's just on right now, but you never know what will happen in there right now. I hope he wins it and makes me look better (laughing). I just hope it's a good fight. Even when I fight, if I get my ass kicked, I just hope I put on a good fight for the fans; that's all I care about.
PC: The Ultimate Fighter winners are on a come-up. Forrest is the light heavyweight champion and Rashad just knocked out Chuck Liddell. That has to make you feel good.
KG: It's awesome for us as Ultimate Fighters because we're slowly breaking out of that shell. People will start looking at us as true contenders instead of guys that were just on a reality show. Forrest and Rashad, just like myself, bust their ass. You could see it with the earlier seasons, but now, it's like everyone just wants to be on TV barking. They don't even have a pro fight on their record. It's like, "Shut the fuck up!" Stop trying to win an Academy Award. You're there to fight. They're giving us a bad name. Fucking fight. If you want to act, go to Hollywood. That's life though. It is what it is; you do you and I'm going to do me. At the end of the day, that's all you can do. I might not support some of the stuff, but at the end of the day, that's just my fucking opinion. I wouldn't mind fighting those fags to show them what fighting is about.
PC: KG, you were the last person that ever stepped inside of the Octagon with Evan Tanner. How tough was it hearing that news. I listened to your message to him on your voice mail.
KG: It hit me hard. I didn't know the guy, but I knew the guy. I didn't know him personally, but I had watched so many tapes on him preparing for our fight, so I really knew him as a fighter. I met him a couple of times and we share a bond that nobody else can have. I fought him for 3 rounds; he punched me and I punched him. It is a sport and it is a business and unfortunately, there's a winner and loser. I heard about it when I got off a plane. I flew in from San Diego and right before the plane landed, actually, I turned on my phone and I got a message from Evan Shoman. You know Evan Shoman, huh?
PC: Yeah, the artist. That's my boy.
KG: Yeah, he texted me Evan was missing and could be deceased. I thought
I was like
I had just woke up and I was like, "What the fuck?" Sure enough, he hit me back and was like, "Yeah, I talked to Evan's brother and they found Evan Tanner's body. His bike broke down and he tried to walk back to civilization and he died." I actually just sat down and started crying for a little while because you feel for the guy. He wasn't a dick. He did his own thing and was living his life and it just sucks to see a great, great competitor and a great champion leave so early. It's always the good guys that get taken early; never the cock suckers. I feel for him and my heart goes out to his family because nobody wants to see that happen to anyone man. It's like "Biggie" said in his interview; it ain't no coming back from that. It sucks!
PC: Do you think it's possible for us to see the UFC on the Islands in the future?
KG: I hope. I hope the UFC comes to Hawaii soon.
PC: Always good to speak with you. Good luck with the gym and make sure you take care of that baby girl man. Is there anything you would like to say in closing?
KG: I want to thank God for making all of this happen and blessing me with a daughter and a beautiful girlfriend that supports me. I have to thank my dad Jimmy because he helped me put my gym together and without him, it wouldn't be possible. I have to thank Justin McCully for coming down; he's the brains of the operation and if it wasn't for him, this shit wouldn't be close to being open and everybody in Hawaii, all of my fans, I have to thank you guys for supporting me through my ups and downs. All of my true fans that have been down with me through my downs, thank you guys. Those are the people that fuel my fire to step back in the cage.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]