Kendall Grove has strong words for Bellator MMA middleweight champion Brandon Halsey. Those words include a knock on his “one-trick” fighting style – as well as bold accusations about the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
With 10 days until his scheduled title fight against Halsey (8-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) at Bellator 137, Grove (21-14 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) said the California State Athletic Commission hasn’t tested him a single time prior to the event.
Grove said he’s shocked that’s the case, given the high-profile nature of the bout and his strong suspicion through “mutual friends” that Halsey uses PEDs.
“People talk. We’ve got mutual friends, and I just know,” Grove today told MMAjunkie. “(The absence of testing) blows my mind. For a state that’s so strict on anti-doping and f-cking drug testing and it being a big title fight, I don’t see why we weren’t randomly drug tested throughout camp. I wasn’t going to say anything because then they would have f-cked up my title fight.
“I want to go in there and I want to make a statement. I want to dedicate this fight to all the skinny guys and go out there and kick his ass naturally. Hopefully he gets the drug test that night (of the fight) and it exposes him for what he is.”
Since he first appeared on the UFC’s “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show in 2006, Grove has never been afraid to speak his mind. Nine years later, that’s still the case, but he said there’s good reason for it. Beyond his speculation that Halsey is operating outside the rules, Grove said he’s not fond of “Bull” as a person or a competitor.
“He’s a piece of sh-t – that’s what I think of him,” Grove said. “He’s a f-cking piece of sh-t. I’m going to expose him for everything that he is. All sh-ttyness aside, he’s a great wrestler. But it ends there. He’s the champ – big deal. It doesn’t matter because I’m going to f-cking go there and beat him no matter if it takes one round or five rounds.
“I’m going to beat him and take that belt, plain and simple. He’s a one-trick pony. He has great wrestling, I’ll give him that, but it ends there. He has no heart. He’s f-cking juiced out of his mind, and I just can’t wait to go in there and sh-t in his cereal.”
Grove challenges Halsey on May 15 at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif. The 185-pound title fight headlines the Spike TV-televised main card following prelims on MMAjunkie.
The contest will mark Halsey’s first attempted title defense after he took the belt from longtime champion Alexander Shlemenko at Bellator 126 in September. The 28-year-old needed just 35 seconds to choke out Shlemenko and win the championship.
While Grove said he respects Halsey’s collegiate wrestling credentials, he doesn’t believe his one-dimensional skill set is enough to win the fight.
“He ran through Shlemenko, who was a great champ, but stylistically that was a bad matchup for Shlemenko to go against a seasoned wrestler,” Grove said. “He’s a great wrestler. I’m not looking past that aspect of his game. He has terrible standup. F-ck him. He’s not going to outstrike me or do any of that. He’s just going to throw some horrible hands to get in close, grab me and take me down, and dry hump the f-ck out of me. I know my jiu-jitsu game is better than his. The one thing he has on me is he’s juiced out his mind strong and he’s got better wrestling.”
Compared to Grove, Halsey is still young in the sport. He made his debut in January 2012, and in less than three years became Bellator champion. Grove’s road has been far longer and more complex. He’s competed in 16 different organizations throughout his storied career, but has never captured a notable championship.
With nearly 12 years of pro experience under his belt, Grove said he believes his entire career has led to Bellator 137. Title fights don’t come often, and he plans to make the most of his.
“It will be one of the highest parts of my career being a world champ for a respectable organization,” Grove said. “It will make my career come full circle. After that, I can retire happy. I’ll have accomplished everything on my MMA bucket list. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m going to win the belt and retire. I’m just saying I’ll have accomplished a lot of things and pretty much everything I’ve wanted in this sport will come true.
“I will defend the belt as much as I can against the best guys in the organization. I plan to prove I’m the true champion. It’s going to mean a lot to go back to Hawaii and be a true champion.”
Grove dreams about the idea of becoming Bellator middleweight champion. The fact he’s been granted the opportunity to accomplish that feat against a nemesis in Halsey makes the situation even sweeter, he said.
“He’s been talking sh-t and looking past me and thinking he’s just going to walk right through me. I find that kind of disrespectful,” Grove said. “He’s going to pay for that. No matter how much sh-t he talks, I’m fired up now. We’re fighting next Friday, and no matter what he said, he’s going to have to deal with it. I’m glad he’s looking past me. I’m stoked he thinks I’m going to be an easy win.”
Kendall Grove Got Strong Words For Bellator Champ Halsey Before Title Fight
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