Neil Grove was born on 18 January 1971 and is a South African-English Heavyweight professional mixed martial artist.
26 Facts About Neil Grove
1.
2.
Originally from South Africa, Neil Grove began competing in rugby at a young age.
3.
In 1996, Neil Grove moved to London, England, where he worked as a personal trainer, sports therapist, and worked as a bouncer at an Irish nightclub in South London.
4.
Neil Grove soon developed a love for the martial art, which, as a combat-style karate, involves throws and submission wrestling.
5.
Neil Grove made his professional debut at UKMMAC 17: Iron Circle on 16 November 2006, beating Anthony Okorie by TKO.
6.
On 14 July 2007, Neil Grove made his Cage Rage debut at Cage Rage 22: Hard as Hell, stepping in on two days notice to fight PRIDE veteran James Thompson.
7.
Neil Grove knocked out the heavily favored Thompson in just 10 seconds of the first round.
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Neil Grove followed up with two more stoppages in Cage Rage before facing former Cage Rage heavyweight champion Rob Broughton.
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Neil Grove fought in a rematch against Robert Berry at Cage Rage 27: Step Up on 12 July 2008.
10.
On 16 December 2008, Neil Grove announced that he was signing a four-fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
11.
Neil Grove expressed interest in fighting fellow European standout Mostapha al-Turk, who has signed with the UFC.
12.
Neil Grove lost his long-awaited UFC debut UFC 95 in London, England, to Mike Ciesnolevicz via Heel hook submission early in the first round.
13.
Neil Grove then fought to a draw with Stav Economou at Ultimate Challenge MMA: Never Back Down.
14.
Neil Grove made his Bellator and US debut against Eddie Sanchez, winning via TKO at 1:32 of round 1.
15.
Neil Grove next faced Alexey Oleynik at Bellator 29 and won via TKO at 0:45 in the first round.
16.
Neil Grove lost the fight via submission in the first round.
17.
Neil Grove was scheduled to make his return to the promotion at Bellator 43 where he would face The Ultimate Fighter 10 alumnus Zak Jensen.
18.
However, Neil Grove pulled out of the bout due to an injury.
19.
Neil Grove won the fight via TKO in the first round.
20.
Neil Grove faced Mike Hayes at Bellator 52 and lost the back-and-forth bout via split decision.
21.
Neil Grove lost the fight via submission in the first round.
22.
Neil Grove faced Todd Duffee in the main event at SFL 2.
23.
Neil Grove lost via TKO at 34 seconds in the first round.
24.
Neil Grove was scheduled to return to UCMMA at UCMMA 31 to face Darren Towler for the UCMMA heavyweight title, but Towler had to retire before the match due to a serious shoulder injury, being replaced by Tomasz Czerwinski making the match for the interim heavyweight title.
25.
Neil Grove snapped his three fight losing streak, knocking out Czerwinski in the first round.
26.
Neil Grove faced James Mulheron at Bellator 158 on 16 July 2016.