Burn Baby Burn

In a recent interview, UFC middleweight Kendall Grove offered the following statement when asked about MMA's crackdown on marijuana:

"See, marijuana is a touchy subject. I’m a rock star — I’ve been smoking weed since I was in the 6th grade, I can openly say that. But I’m also clean when I fight. I cut that shit out — I’m a professional. Don’t get me wrong, my first six fights, I fought high, I fought stoned. But when you get to this level, you have to take responsibility. It’s your job. I stop doing that stuff three months out. I just think they blew it way out of proportion. What did they say with Nick Diaz? 'Oh, him smoking weed made his pain threshold higher—'

"It’s stupid. Steroids actually make you run faster, make you stronger — it’s a performance enhancer. And weed just makes you gain weight and be lazy. "

To be honest, this does not surprise or bother me at all. Until recently, there'd been a picture of Kendall on his MySpace page of what looked a lot like him lying on a bed with a blunt in his hand. Marijuana smoke is certainly not Grove's biggest problem; not utilizing his tremendous size advantage is.

Cote is Ready for Grove

"He’s a very tall guy, but I already fought a guy that tall before at 205 (Ricardeau Francois), so it’s not a big deal for me, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be stronger and more powerful than him. I can’t see him being strong at 185 being 6' 6". The most difficult thing is the height and to find a hole to go inside and do your stuff. But I have good training partners. I have a guy who is 6' 5" to train with, a very good Muay Thai guy, so I’ll be ready for this fight."

- UFC middleweight Patrick "The Predator" Cote

I was just reading a UFC.com article about Cote, and hearing that he's been training with someone around the same size as Kendall Grove makes this match much more interesting. Most of you probably aren't too fired up about Grove vs. Cote, but I think that it has the makings to be a very exciting fight. And think about it: why wouldn't you be rooting for some excitement from a couple of young middleweight contenders?

Grove's size is a problem for just about any 185-pounder, and he has demonstrated a punishing arsenal of knees and elbows from the clinch. Cote, who loves to let his hands go, believes that this is a must-win situation for his career with the UFC. His UFC 67 over Scott Smith was lackluster, but now that he's got a UFC win under his belt, I'm looking forward to a more spirited performance from The Predator.

Grove Remains Patient for Title Shot

MMAWeekly.com has done a piece on middleweight Kendall Grove, whom I like quite a bit, in which the Hawaii native admits that, should he get past Patrick "The Predator" Cote at UFC 74, he will not quite be ready to take on UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva any time soon.

"Right now, I feel I'm not ready for him (Silva). I'm all about giving the fans a good fight, and to jump in there right now with him, I just feel he'll destroy me. Give me a year, maybe a year and a half to better my skills, and I'll jump in there with him. You know what I'm saying? Hopefully when, if the UFC goes to Hawaii. That will be about a year and a half from now. When I'm ready I feel like I should get a shot, and no disrespect to anyone else in the weight division. I just want to climb that ladder and get my respect and pay my dues just like the rest of these great fighters at the 185 weight class have been doing. I don't want to cut in line in front of nobody, step on nobodies [sic] toes. I just want to mature and grow as a fighter," Kendall told the good folks at MMAWeekly.

I admire Grove for his humility and for honestly assessing his skills and his career thus far. I agree that in eighteen months, he'll no doubt be a much more complete, dangerous fighter. I also understand his desire to climb the UFC's 185-lb. ladder and pay his dues, and holding off to possibly fight for the title in Hawaii might work out brilliantly. Most of all, wins over Ed Herman, Chris Price, and Alan Belcher do not mean that you're ready for a title fight, and Kendall seems to understand this.

But still...

Title shots don't come around too often, and Dana White loves guys who will step up to the plate. Take, for instance, Patrick Cote taking a fight on very short notice against Tito Ortiz (and going the distance with Tito) back at at UFC 50. There's a reason Cote, despite a 1-4 UFC record, keeps getting fights, and that's it.

And back to the ladder metaphor: A loss to Silva in the near future, especially considering the current state of the middleweight division, wouldn't be that damaging to a young fighter like Kendall. He'd basically be falling down a very short ladder. Look at Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami; both were within sniffing distance of the championship and, despite losing their big fights, are each probably just one or two more wins away from being back in the championship picture.

Nonetheless, I agree that Kendall probably isn't in the best position to take on a champion in the near future, but I've been looking forward to when he will be.

Click here for more coverage form MMAWeekly.com.

Knocking on the Door

For the time being, we all know who will be challenging for UFC championship honors: Randy Couture will defend his heavyweight strap against Gabriel Gonzaga next month, light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is set to face Pride champ Dan Henderson in a unification bout at UFC 75, lightweight champ Sean Sherk will defend his belt against BJ Penn (most likely) at UFC 78, Matt Hughes hopes to regain the welterweight belt against Matt Serra at UFC 79, and Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin will fight once again for middleweight honors at UFC 77.

Beyond that, however, the top contenders are not as clearly established. Kodiak MMA has therefore put together a quick list of fighters who could - and should - be just one or two more wins away from a title match.

Karo "The Heat" Parisyan
The glamorous UFC welterweight division is loaded with young and veteran talent, and a case can be made that a number of 170-pounders deserve a title shot. None, however, are more deserving at the moment than Karo. Granted, Karo will have to wait in line for things to unfold within the division. The winner of the GSP/Josh Koscheck fight at UFC 74 will face the winning Matt (Serra vs. Hughes) for the title, and after that, it should be Karo’s turn.

Karo is 8-2 in the UFC with impressive UFC wins against Josh Burkman, Drew Fickett, Chris Lytle, Nick Thompson, Shonie Carter, Nick Diaz, and welterweight champ Matt Serra. His only UFC losses have come to former champion Georges St. Pierre, and to Diego Sanchez in what was arguably the best fight of 2006.

Karo has shown a propensity to slug it out with any and all challengers, and he continues to thrill MMA fans with his peerless Judo prowess.

Jon Fitch
Fitch carries a sparkling 6-0 resume and has earned stoppage wins over tough competition: Josh Burkman, Luigi Fioravanti, Thiago Alves, Roan Carniero, and WEC top welterweight contender Brock Larson.

For me, Fitch is in the same boat as Karo Parisyan, which is why I’d much prefer that Fitch fight Karo – not Diego Sanchez – at UFC 76 in September. Nonetheless, with a win over Sanchez at UFC 76, it’ll be hard for the UFC to keep the Indiana native out of the championship spotlight.

Joe “Daddy” Stevenson
If you haven’t figured it out by now, Joe “Daddy” is a favorite here at Kodiak MMA, even though he beat beloved Long Island product Luke “The Silent Assassin” Cummo.

Stevenson, the Ultimate Fighter Season One winner, sports a very solid 27-7 MMA record and has known defeat just once in the UFC octagon. With a win against Kurt Pellegrino next month, Joe Daddy should be next in line for a lightweight title shot against BJ Penn or Sean Sherk. Like Sherk, Stevenson is an exceptionally powerful grappler who smothers his opponents and eventually proves to be too much man.

Since dropping down to 155 lbs., Stevenson has looked more impressive than ever. He choked the shit out of Dokonjonosuke Mishima in the opening round at and then did the same to the very powerful, very annoying Melvin Guillard.

Kenny Florian
Florian battled – and battered – UFC lightweight champ Sean Sherk for the vacant 155-lb. belt, and showed a remarkably improved Muy Thai arsenal in defeat. He has since continued to fight well as a welterweight, submitting Dokonjonosuke Mishima in April and absolutely destroying Ring of Fire lightweight champion Alvin Robinson at UFC 73 with strikes in the very first round. Florian, a Boston College graduate, has demonstrated a knack for finishing fights and seems to be only getting better.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
If you’ve never seen Shogun fight, you’re missing out. Actually, if you've never seen a Shogun fight, stop reading this post right now and go find some online video of him somewhere.

The Chute Boxe product is widely regarded as the top 205-lb. fighter alive, and he brings a ferocious style of Muay Thai kickboxing that the UFC light heavyweight division has never seen. With Rua’s already expansive fan base and dominant wins over Ricardo Arona, Alistair Overeem (twice), Kevin Randleman, Antonio Rogiero Nogueira, and UFC LHW champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, don’t be surprised to see him in the championship mix within the next few months if he makes it past Forrest Griffin.

Then again, if UFC brass plans to pave an easy road for Chuck Liddell to get back to championship contention, our boy Shogun is definitely not someone against whom The Iceman would be pitted along the way.

Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski
I know, I know. He scored a questionable win over Marcio Cruz at UFC 66 and then bored the balls off of us against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 70. The fact remains that Arlovski is one of the division’s most explosive, athletically gifted fighters, and his only UFC losses have come to fighters who have at some point worn UFC heavyweight championship gold.

Plus, notable names like Cro Cop, Tim Sylvia, “Minotauro” Nogueira, and Brandon Vera are either coming off of losses or need to rack up a few more wins before fighting for the belt. In addition, the pressure is on Pitbull to perform, whose title shot against the Couture-Gonzaga winner was rescinded by UFC president Dana White after his (Arlovski’s) lackluster match with Werdum.

Arlovski has the tools to beat just about any heavyweight anywhere, and with one more win, his name should once again be atop the list of title contenders.

Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove
The Hawaiian-born middleweight and Team Punishment fighter has been impressive since winning the Ultimate Fighter Season Three reality show, earning submission wins over Chris Price (strikes) and Alan Belcher (choke).

The 6’6” Grove is a true mixed martial artist, combining dangerous submission skills with a dangerous arsenal of strikes. He might not be a household name, but Kendall Grove’s talent and popularity, as well as the relatively shallow talent pool at 185 lbs., make him a likely title contender in the near future.

UFC Confirms Three Biggies

- UFC middleweights Kendall Grove and Patrick Cote will face off at UFC 74 on August 5. If Cote couldn’t finish Scott Smith, I don’t see how he’ll manage the much bigger, much more lethal Kendall Grove.

- UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra will make his first title defense against Matt Hughes in Las Vegas on Dec. 31 -– not in New Jersey in November. The change of venue was made public on Hughes’ web site. A New Jersey fight would have been huge for Long Island's Serra.

- The winner of the Sean Sherk/Hermes Franca UFC lightweight championship match at UFC 73 next weekend will make his first title defense face BJ Penn, UFC president Dana White told ESPN’s “The Hot List.” Looks like BJ will be picking up a lightweight championship before jumping back up to the UFC's glamorous welterweight class. Not to brag or anything, but once I heard that the BJ Penn/Jens Pulver fight was set, I told my friend Ross that Penn would definitely get a title shot if he were to get past Jens. Damn, I'm good...