Finding a young fighter who anticipates the inevitable end to his combat career and acts accordingly is a rare thing. This is especially true when the fighter comes from a humble background and has to deal with the shock of newfound fame and fortune.
Kendall Grove knows the story well. Winning the TUF3 season and looking invincible in his first two UFC outings propelled him to a position that would make anybody in the fight industry envious. However, Kendall describes it as a time where he could have acted more wisely.
“I’ve been an idiot with my money ever since I got with the UFC up until only a few years ago. It wasn’t until I had my daughter that I said to myself, ‘Oh shit, this isn’t about me.’ I need to support my daughters, my son and a baby that is due in April. So I need my job with the UFC for two more years. After that, I can sit back and be a fan again.”
Kendall admits that raising a family, running a gym and punching in a career with the premier Mixed Martial Arts organization is a tall task, and it is one he has done well with so far. Yet as time goes by and his family grows, Kendall eyes the prospect of retirement with increasing consideration.
“A job is a job. I want to retire with the UFC because we have a fantastic relationship. But me, personally, I don’t want to do this shit forever. I love it because I love it right now. But once I get enough of a cushion to where I can live and be happy, that will be the end. I want to retire when I’m 30 years old. That is the plan.”
Kendall is currently 28 years old.
In 2010, the UFC merged with World Extreme Cagefighting, a promotion of lighter-weight fighters also under the Zuffa banner. Though the move was a highly anticipated one, it promised an increase in fighter releases in order to make room for those in the new divisions. Kendall, who has been faced with the possibility of being released by the promotion in the past, has his own opinions regarding the merge and the walking papers that accompany it.
“If you come to fight, don’t worry. You’ll be recognized by the UFC or someone else. Right now I am performing, but I’ve come up short. You need the win. Some guys will get pissed off when they lose fair and square, but I don’t care. It is a job. It is a hurt business. We’re going to get hurt. And if you can’t perform, go get another job. This is their company and they can do whatever the hell they want.”
Kendall states that if he was released by the UFC he would try to work his way back to the promotion prior to his anticipated retirement. He was recently tapped to fight at UFC 130 on May 28, 2011 and is currently in talks with UFC matchmaker Joe Silva to find an opponent.
Kendall also supports the idea of a union for fighters, though he finds the chances of one materializing in the near future very slim.
“I support a union that gets us medical and looks out for us. It makes it a little more fair for the fighters. We will see if it happens. What about the guys who get paid big dollars, like Georges St. Pierre, Chuck Liddell – why would they sign on to something like that and get paid less? We can get it, but it is pretty far out of reach right now. We need some serious uniting.”
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