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25/06/10 - Kendall Grove pays price for comments about Spike TV
Kendall Grove has had his UFC 116 fight with Goran Reljic relegated from a special Spike TV broadcast to the unaired prelims following his criticism of The Ultimate Fighter series in an appearance on TapouT Radio this week.
Grove said that TUF contestants are selected by Spike TV executives not the UFC, with the goal being to find the personalities likely to create the most drama rather than the fighters most likely to succeed in the UFC.
Season 8 was singled out for special attention from Grove as he castigated the broadcasting of scenes involving bodily 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,” he added.
On Wednesday, Grove returned to TapouT Radio to offer an on-air apology for the remarks and to point out that he believes Spike TV essentially saved the sport of MMA when it helped the UFC explode in popularity.
But it was too late it seems. Spike TV executives made the decision to hit Grove where it hurts and have decided to broadcast a fight between Seth Petruzelli and Ricardo Romero instead. According to MMA Junkie a Spike TV executive said the move was prompted specifically by Grove’s comments.
Unfortunately Grove’s outburst has also cost Goran Reljic. The Croatian’s sponsorship deals will have been negotiated on the understanding that he would be fighting on a TV network available in 98 million homes. The value of his sponsorship packages could well take a tumble now.
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