The Sports Informant

By Patrick Ibarra
Editor

Amidst all the hype of broadcasting from Abu Dhabi, the Ultimate Fighting Championship kicked off its “UFC 112: Invincible” pay-per-view event with a showdown between up-and-coming middleweight Mark Munoz and veteran Kendall Grove.

The two, with very different styles, had the same goals in mind: put on a great fight and get the victory. Munoz, a Sacramento-area native, was able to do both.

After a two-round war that saw both men nearly end the fight with impressive attacks, Munoz outlasted Grove, earning a second-round stoppage from ground-and-pound strikes on Grove.

Mark Munoz throws a heavy right hand at Kendall Grove Saturday. (Photo courtesy the UFC)

The 32-year-old former NCAA Division I wrestling champion at Oklahoma State University had to adjust from his initial strategy to survive an early flurry by Grove, but ultimately went back to it to get the victory and earn Fight of the Night honors from the UFC.

“I know when I step into the Octagon tonight I’m going to be bigger, stronger, faster,” Munoz told the UFC before the fight. “I’m going to look to get inside, take him down, pound his face in, and get the win.”

But six inches shorter, five years older and with an eight-inch reach disadvantage, Munoz struggled to take Grove down, and when he finally did, he had to escape multiple submission attempts to survive.

Grove won the first round, seemingly, landing several strikes and securing several submissions that nearly ended the fight. During one of Munoz’s takedowns, Grove landed an uppercut that dropped Munoz to his knees and back. Grabbing a leg to survive, Munoz endured several hammer fists to the head and eventually several choke attempts before escaping the first round narrowly.

With less than 10 seconds left in the first round, Grove had Munoz in a final choke, but Munoz stayed calm, used his wrestling to get the right position, and snuck his head out to roll out of the hold.

The second round was similar to start, as Munoz attempted a takedown that was stuffed by a Grove punch. Shifting gears a bit, Munoz started throwing several heavy punches before eating a brutal knee from Grove and falling against the cage. 

Survive and conquer was the theme for Munoz, though, who grabbed Grove’s legs any time he was rattled by Grove attacks, and eventually in the second round this led to a takedown for Munoz. Once on top, Munoz never let up.

“You gotta have will to survive in the cage, and that’s what I have,” Munoz said after the fight. “I wanna make it to the top and that’s what you need in order to be a champ.”

Vicious ground-and-pound by Munoz left Grove battered and reeling, looking for a defense to either escape and stand up, or block Munoz’s punches. Neither happened.

Munoz continuously landed punches to the face, forcing a defenseless Grove to curl into a ball and the referee to stop the fight.

“That’s one of my strong points, I just love when im on top,” Munoz said after the fight. “I just know I have heavy hands on top and I’m a wrestler.”

The TKO win pushed Munoz’s record to 8-1. The exciting fight had fans live in Abu Dhabi cheering loudly for both fighters. Fight of the Night honors also earned both fighters a $75,000 bonus.

For more on the fight, including a round-by-round breakdown, click here.

Munoz vs. Grove slideshow