John Chandler at MMAonTap.com was the first to report that Evan Tanner and Kendall Grove will fight each other at The Ultimate Fighter 7 finale this June.
Kendall Grove has since confirmed the fight on his personal website.
Grove last fought at UFC 80 where he lost in quick fashion to Jorge Rivera. The loss was Grove’s second in a row as he fell to Patrick Cote at UFC 74 as well. Grove needs a strong showing against Tanner, who could prove to be his toughest opponent yet.
After spending almost a full two years away from fight, Evan Tanner returned to the UFC against Yushin Okami at UFC 82. Tanner looked timid in his return and lost in the second round after eating a knee from Okami. Now that the “cage rust” is off for Tanner and he has been back training full-time for over 6 months, we could see glimpses of the former UFC Middleweight champ return. Grove will be a good test and is more the type of matchup Tanner should have had in his UFC return instead of Okami.
The TUF 7 Finale is currently scheduled for June 21 in Las Vegas, NV. The event will feature fights between contestants on the show as well as rumored fights between Diego Sanchez and Luigi Fioravanti as well as Dustin Hazelett and Josh Burkman.
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bvrasp
R.J. St.Croix
Timbo Slice
DZ
StuDog
no crap… ugh i dont know who to pick… i luv both dudes ugh!!!
i wouldnt doubt if the loser of this one disappears from the UFC and pops up some were else later.
I see Kendall Grove on the comeback trail in this fight, he is working on his sprawl, I know that Evan didn’t look sharp at all in his “re-debut” so I think he will last a while longer in this, but in the end I pick Grove by unanimous decision…. I think that Tanner will move into another organization like the Shamrocks, the Gracies, Tim Sylvia, and soon Tito Ortiz.
I understand that Grove has been knocked out and has lost his last couple of fights, but he is younger, resilient, in my opinion more determined and “scared” of losing his contract because its his one opportunity, whereas I see Tanner has option because he is a former champ and he has friends on islands in the pacific as well as on other planets which would explain he best fried Miller Bud Coors… that makes no sense but neither does Tanner most of the time.. hehe
kanass… ur kinda takin tanner lightly
I agree with Kansas on this one, I think Grove is serious about being a fighter and training while Tanner is probably looking for a few paychecks.
A few reasons why i think Tanner is done, besides all the problems outside the cage, lets just talk about his skills as a fighter.
Hes basically a strong wrestler with good GnP and a good clich game. This is what sustained him as a fighter both at 170 and 185, i always thought he should stay at 170 because simply hes too small for 185.
His skills and tactics worked for a while, but now everyonw has those skills plus more, like a solid standup and BJJ game.
Ill say this about Tanner though, hes a tough dude and hes got a ton of heart. Unfortunately these days all that will get him is a long beatdown.
The amount of skill being shown in the UFC these days makes Tanner seem like a dinosaur, its unfortunate, but i dont think he has a realistic chance at making it at any division in the UFC.
I predicts a few consecutive losses for Tanner, first he got Okami whos a beast, now Grove whos clinch game is superior to Tanners. They should have given him charles Mccarthy or someone like that so he could get a W and get some momentum.
Hes outclassed at 185, hes DEFINATELY outclassed at 170, i cant see any reason to think Tanner can make it in the UFC at this point.
ye who have little faith
you gotta do better than that Patrick, lets hear a reason why..
ull see
lol, cant even think of one thing to say Patrick? i dont blame you, i pretty much covered it all.. there IS no reasonable argument to suggest Tanner would be successful in the UFC at this point.
yes there is bv… he fought okami wiht a load of ring rust.. his heart dedication is outstanding.. hes determined not just looking for a paycheck… common… the man got courage and strength to stop drinking on his own without any medical help…. if hes that determined when it comes to his fighting … he will win again…yea he might be looking for a paycheck… but dont you think he might wanna win fights to get an even bigger paycheck…
ok well, atleast your making an argument now Patrick, id love to see Tanner back on top form, i just dont see it happening. Like you said, we shall see..
i just dont like typing alot sometimes lol …cuz im a lazy bioch sometimes kinda like kanass lol…
Honestly, I’m really torn on this one. Tanner two years ago would handily defeat Grove, probably in a unanimous decision…quite possibly a mid to late fight GnP….but now it’s like evaluating a whole new fighter, and based off his performance with Okami (who’s a beast by the way) I don’t know that he can get by grove. It’s a good fight for him, because if he can;t get through Grove then he really shouldn’t be in the UFC right now. I want to see some footage of Tanner’s training, this is one of those fights I might actually pick after seeing the preview show.