At 6’6”
Kendall Grove is long for the Middleweight Division and enjoys a sizeable reach
advantage over most opponents with his massive seventy-nine inch wingspan.
Friday night will be no different for Da
Spyder, when he faces former Bellator
MW Champion, Alexander Shlemenko in the Main Event at Bellator 162, in Memphis, Tenn. Shlemenko at 5’11” will be out-armed by eight
and a half inches, but the Thirty-two year old Russian fighter effectively
implements spinning punches and kicks to close distance with his opponents. One
of the most interesting factors of this match-up, distance and who controls it.
Two true veterans of the sport compete: Grove won The Ultimate Fighter Season 3, ten years ago and this is the sixty-fourth
fight of Shlemenko’s pro career, dating back to 2004.
Hawaiian,
Kendall Grove has stopped seventeen of his twenty-three wins early. Two of his
seven KO/TKO wins have been in his last two appearances. In February he Knocked
Francisco France cold in the second round (0:35) at Bellator 150 and halted, always game, Joey Beltran’s night with a
third round (2:27) TKO at Bellator 143
last September. If Grove’s new found power, isn’t cause for Shlemenko’s concern
then the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt’s submission game should be, Da Spyder has wrapped those long limbs
around ten opponents and forced the tap. Four of Shlemenko’s nine losses have
come by Submission, including back to back naps in 2014 to Ortiz and Halsey.
Thirty-three
year old, Grove always looks for the finish. He is 4-2 in Bellator, with only his promotional debut making it to the judges’
scorecards, a Unanimous Decision over Joe Vedepo at Bellator 104. His aggressive style does leave him vulnerable, those
two losses came by TKO/KO to Brandon Halsey at Bellator 137 and Brett Cooper at Bellator 114. Facing a Russian mauler with twenty-nine career
KO/TKO wins, Grove should look to take Shlemenko to the mat and work for a
submission.
Alexander
Storm Shlemenko is also coming off a
pair of wins, both over former M-1 MW
champ, Vyacheslav Vasilevsky. A February Majority Decision at M-1 Challenge 64 wasn’t convincing
enough so Storm stopped Vasilevsky
with a third round Guillotine at M-1 Challenge 68 (6/16/16).
The former MW Champ, Shlemenko
experienced a slide in 2014, beginning when he stepped in to face Tito Ortiz at
Light Heavyweight. A neck injury delayed Ortiz’s return from retirement and
promotional debut, leaving him without an opponent. Shlemenko offered to step
in at Bellator 120. The mammothly
larger Ortiz dragged the Russian to the ground, sunk in an Arm-Triangle and choked Alexander unconscious in the opening round.
Storm returned six months later at Bellator 126, to defend his Belt and was
again choked to sleep, this time by Brandon Halsey in just thirty-five seconds.
An impressive Spinning Back-fist
Knock Out of Melvin Manhoef (2nd round 1:25) at Bellator 133 (2/13/15) was later ruled a No Contest and Shlemenko
suspended for three years for failing a post-fight drug test for elevated
Testosterone levels by California State
Athletic Commission. This past July, Shlemenko won an appeal lifting his
suspension and reducing his fine to $5,000. Storm
has remained active, despite the suspension, competing in Russia for M-1 twice in 2016.
At 53-9-1 with thirty-eight wins by
stoppage, Alexander Shlemenko has seen it all and will likely use his spinning
attacks to prevent Grove from picking him apart from the outside. He should
also avoid the clinch where the sharp elbows and knees of Grove serve him best.
Both fighters have multiple ways to win and the fighter that implements their
game plan best will likely come away with an early stoppage win.
For continued Main Card Coverage click the link: http://fightpage.blogspot.com/2016/10/bellator-162-breakdown.html
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