UFC 80: Kendall Grove vs. Jorge Rivera

Kendall Grove will likely face Jorge Rivera at UFC 80: Rapid Fire in England according to the official Xtreme Couture blog though contracts for the bout have yet to be signed:

Contracts haven’t been signed yet, but we’re told Kendall Grove’s next opponent will be “The Conquistador” Jorge Rivera. The fight is being planned as part of UFC 80: Rapid Fire in Newcastle, England. Jorge recently won 2 fights in England’s Cage Rage promotion and has been building his name across the pond.

Expect a formal announcement in coming days.

After entering the third season of The Ultimate Fighter with a modest 5-3 record Grove defeated Ross Pointon, Kalib Starnes, and Ed Herman to capture the TUF 3 title. He emerged as a rising contender in the middleweight division with back-to-back wins over Chris Price and Alan Belcher. Grove was handed the first setback of his UFC career in August when he lost to Patrick Cote by late-first round knockout at UFC 74: Respect. Despite the loss Grove remains a very legitimate threat in the thin middleweight division and a short win streak could earn the Hawaiian fighter a shot at the middleweight title.

Rivera is a long-time UFC veteran debuting for the promotion at UFC 44: Undisputed in 2003. He earned wins over David Loiseau, Dennis Hallman, and Edwin Dewees while dropping bouts against Lee Murray, Chris Leben, and Rich Franklin. In his last fight Rivera was knocked out by Terry Martin in just 14-seconds at UFC 67: All or Nothing in February.

Source: www.ufcdaily.com