Kendall Grove may have been good enough to win season three of The Ultimate Fighter, but he certainly wasn't good enough to beat Demian Maia at the finale of season 12.
Maia, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist and perhaps the most predictable fighter in the UFC's middleweight division, came in with the usual game-plan -- take him down and submit him. He accomplished the former, but came just short of the latter.
After coming out exchanging with Grove, Maia had enough trouble with the 6'6" Hawaiian's reach to decide he had enough about a minute and a half, at which time he scored his first takedown.
Once he had got him down, he was relentless in his pursuit of the finish.
Grove performed admirably once he was on his back, avoiding every submission attempt thrown his way and even scrambling to his feet quite a few times. He was never able to stop the takedown, however, and that proved to be his ultimate undoing.
By the time the third round came, Grove was so worried about Maia shooting in, it seemed he was reluctant to truly let his hands go. Although the judges scored him the final round, it wasn't enough and he loses once again after asking for a step up in competition.
Maia is now undefeated (2-0) since his decision loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 112.
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