Kendall Grove vs. Goran Reljic fight removed from Spike TV undercard.
by Mike Williams on June 25, 2010

The UFC 116 bout between Kendall Grove and Goran Reljic was slated to air on the Spike TV prelims but has been relegated to the unaired portion of the undercard due to some comments by Grove on TapouT radio. Grove, the winner of season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter, had some pretty harsh words about the show, including allegations that Spike executives chose the fighters for the show and not the UFC. He added that the fighters were chosen based on personalities that would bring ratings as opposed to their skill inside the octagon.

He seemed particularly bothered by season 8 and the airing of episodes involving fluids. “People do that stuff. Why? Because it’s ratings. Is it a health violation? Hell yeah, but did you see the Spike TV people stop that from happening? No - it sells ratings and that’s all they care about."

“They could give two shits about our careers. They just care about the six weeks that they’re shooting and trying to get as much drama and stupidity out of us and that’s all we are to them is cattle and sheep,”

Grove did appear back on the show on Wednesday and retracted his statements, apologizing and giving credit to Spike for helping to save the sport. The apology came too late though, as MMA Junkie is reporting that a Spike executive has claimed that the removal of the fight from TV is directly related to the remarks made by Da Spyder.

As usual, collateral damage has been suffered by an innocent bystander. Reljic had negotiated his sponsorship deals and money based on the fact that Spike TV is available in 98 million homes. The demotion of the fight has undoubtedly cost him some serious money.

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 116 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!

 |  (14) Comments thug4less: And this is why I hate corporations in general. Yeah, Grove was stupid for blabbing his mouth but the man was just telling it like it is. Anyone with a brain knows that that's how those reality shows work. Mad props to Grove for speaking his mind but I shake my head at him retracting his statements. You always let answers roll around in your head a couple of times before you spout off so you can fully appreciate the consequences. He should only say these types of things when he's no longer employed by the UFC. mike5k: I got a hold of Punkass to see if he wanted to comment on this considering it happened on TapouT Radio AND they're a big sponsor of TUF. He hasn't been filled in on the whole story yet so he's hesitant to go on the record, which is understandable. Masternate: i think the ufc should enact a voting system in deciding which fights to air live. Post a poll weeks before the ppv event, asking fans which prelim fight they want to see the most. The two fights with the most votes should air live. Thats just my preference. And while i agree with most of what kendall said, it was just stupid/unnessary. and i like the replacement tho, i was looking forward to seth petruzelli/ricardo romero Wandering_Minstrel: Hope I'm not the only one who believes that Goran Reljic is going to beat the ever-loving shit out of Kendall Grove. He's definitely got the motivation for it now. GO HARD: i think most of us on here would rather see gerald harris vs dave branch... Anthony: I'm sure Gen. Stanley McChrystal understands Kendall Grove's frustration all too well.
HOW WILL THE THIAGO ALVES VS. MARTIN KAMPMANN FIGHT END AT UFC ON FX 2?
Alves def. Kampmann via TKO/KO
Alves def. Kampmann via submission
Alves def. Kampmann via decision
Kampmann def. Alves via TKO/KO
Kampmann def. Alves via submission
Kampmann def. Alves via decision
TAKE ANOTHER POLL!