"A couple of guys they're mentioning is they want to see me and Marquardt or Gouveia. They think Gouveia would be a good test for me. It's just like fighting any of the other guys; show me the money. I gotta feed three mouths now instead of one. I'm down to fight anybodyÂ…I talked to Joe Silva and he said no later than August, so I hope to get on the Penn-Florian card and get one more victory," stated UFC middleweight contender Kendall Grove as he talked about his future plans after his big win over Jason Day at UFC 96. Check it out!
PC: Congrats on the win in Ohio.
KG: Thank you!
PC: Looking at the way Jason Day rushed you, do you think it's going to be like that for you here on out?
KG: Yeah! Cote did it and I fell short and Jorge Rivera did it and it happened again, but I learned from my mistakes. A lot of people still think that is the blueprint. Hopefully not now, but I have that every day at practice. People are bumrushing me trying to take me out there as well. I learned to keep my composure, not wilding out getting stupid or reckless and I'll be good. I have to weather the storm a minute or two at the most, then after that, it's my turn.
PC: Did you feel like you were the better fighter, but it was going to take weathering that storm to use your technical advantages over him?
KG: Yeah. When he did that, I didn't expect the fight to go like that. I trained my ass off for a good fight because I knew he was an accomplished fighter. He didn't beat Loiseau, Goulet and all of these UFC vets off of good looks. He actually knows his shit. When he came out, I knew he was going to try and bumrush me. I just wanted to take a couple, feel his power and see what he's got in the clinch to see how strong he is; after that initial rush, I was a bit frustratedÂ…not frustrated, but tense in the beginning becauseÂ…I fucking really don't know why. I guess because he bumrushed me and stuff. I stayed composed and one of my cornerman said, "Pick your shots, settle down and use your jab." I started throwing my jab out there and moving and then double jab, right hand.
PC: Do you think the double jab blinded him or was he being so wild and aggressive, you knew the right hand could come over his wild shots?
KG: Honestly, in the back, my trainer, Rudy Valentino, told me when we were warming up and I was throwing my right hand that if I hit him with that, it's over. He told me, "If you hit him with that right hand and catch him at the end of the punch, it's over Kendall, trust me." That's why right after I hit him with the right hand and finished him, I looked at my corner and he was just smiling. I was like, "Fuck!"
PC: We haven't seen the gravedigger in a while. How did it feel to get that knockout win?
KG: It felt good. It felt great. It's another win under my belt and showing people that I'm not a joke. It shows people that I'm a fighter. I know I shouldn't be reading the Underground and shit, but I read it once in awhile to hype me up. I read it sometimes and I'm just like, "What the fuck?" So it's good for that. I like to shut those guys up because they want to see me lose as bad as I want to win. It feels great because I know those guys are hating it right now and I'm just loving it (laughing).
PC: I was shocked when Dana said you could be cut with a loss to Day. Did that put additional pressure on you or were you able to still just treat it like another fight?
KG: Nah. Like I said, it didn't bother me that he said it could be my last fight in the UFC, but the thing that made me kind of, not mad, but irritated me was that he put it in USA Today two days before my fight. I wouldn't have cared if he would've came up to me like, "Kendall, you know, times is hard and you haven't been fighting too much recently. You win this one, you're in." If I lose, I don't give a fuck. I still don't give a fuck, but it's just the fact that he put it in the newspaper was kind of a shot at me and I didn't feel like I did anything wrong. There are guys out there that I'm just like, "Fuck!" And they're still coming back.
PC: The 185-pound division is starting to shape up. Is there any opponent out there you would like to test your skills against?
KG: A couple of guys they're mentioning is they want to see me and Marquardt or Gouveia. They think Gouveia would be a good test for me. It's just like fighting any of the other guys; show me the money. I gotta feed three mouths now instead of one. I'm down to fight anybody. I got a solid crew I'm working with and I'm learning every day. I'm in my school right now training. I did some Jiu Jitsu the other night and I'm staying in shape. I talked to Joe Silva and he said no later than August, so I hope to get on the Penn-Florian card and get one more victory.
PC: Congrats on the win again. I look forward to seeing you later on this year. Any closing thoughts?
KG: I want to thank all of my fans that stuck with me through my ups and downs, even in my losses after getting knocked the fuck out. People were coming up to me like, "You're still the man and you can bounce back." My last fight was for them guys, the people of Hawaii, my daughter, my fiancé and Percy, you too man for always having my back. Thanks bro.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]