Bellator HW Tournament Progression

With two rounds of the Bellator HW tournament completed, the finals have been set in stone, with UK's Neil Grove fighting USA's Cole Konrad. The fighters will attempt to be crowned Bellator's first HW champion when they fight at Bellator 32 in two weeks. 

Grove, a heavy handed striker, will likely try to keep the fight standing utilizing his powerful boxing.  Konrad, an upper level wrestler, will continue with the strategy that has got him to the finals.  He'll look to take down Grove and beat on him with ground and pound.

FINALISTS:

Finalist- Neil "Goliath" Grove (10-2)- All 10 wins via TKO/KO, this UK based HW has TKO's over James McSweeney, Robert Berry and James Thompson.  Grove advanced to the second round by TKO'ing UFC veteram Eddie Sanchez in the 1st Round.  In the second round of the tournament, Grove worked over submission specialist Alexey Oleinick with vicious ground and pound, defeating him in the first round.

Advanced- Cole "King" Konrad (6-0)- 2X NCAA champion wrestler, decision victories over John Orr and Patrick Bennett in Bellator. Cole will come in very close to the 265 pound limit and look to use his improving submission and boxing skills. Konrad defeated Rogent Lloret in the 1st round via decision at Bellator 25.  In the second round, Konrad used stiffling takedowns and ground and pound to defeat Damian Grabowski via decision.

Video of the Day - Grabowski v. Kita

Here is Bellator HW tourney participant Damian Grabowski fighting Michal Kita in BOTE which took place on 6/12/10 in Gydnia, Poland. Grabowski, nicknamed "The Polish Pitbull" is 12-0 with 7 subs and 5 TKO's on his resume.

Kita is no slouch himself, sporting a 10-4 record including 3 wins in the M-1 Challenge and an IAFC Mayor's Cup HW Title.