Neil 'Goliath' Grove

heavily favored Thompson in just 10 seconds of the first round. Grove followed up with two more stoppages in Cage Rage before facing former Cage Rage heavyweight champion Rob Broughton. Grove lost the bout by majority decision. Grove fought in a re-match against Robert Berry at Cage Rage 27: Step Up on July 12, 2008. He won via TKO in the second round. On December 7, 2008, he fought James McSweeny for the Ultimate Challenge UK Heavy Weight Title, MMA: Bad Breed. On December 16, 2008, Grove announced that he was signing a four fight deal with the UFC. Grove expressed interest in fighting Al-Turk, who has also signed with the UFC.[1]
He lost his first and only UFC fight at UFC 95, being defeated by IFL veteran Mike Ciesnolevicz in the first round. Grove broke 3 ribs stopping a takedown attempt by Mike and succumbed to a heel hook eventually. Grove was released from his UFC contract in May. Afterwards he returned to Ultimate Challenge UK at the The Troxy in London, he defeated Martin Thompson to retain his UCUK Heavyweight title. He then fought to a draw with Stav Economou at Ultimate Challenge MMA - Never Back Down. Grove made his Bellator and US debut against Eddie Sanchez, winning via TKO (Punches) at 1:32 of round 1. He next faced Alexey Oleinik at Bellator 29. He won via TKO at 0:45 in the first round, earning a spot in the finals of the Bellator Heavyweight Tournament, against Cole Konrad, an NCAA wrestling champion in 2006 and 2007.