Mamed Khalidov Achilles Lock Submits Kendall Grove in KSW 21 Headliner

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In hindsight, discretion may have been the better part of valor for “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner Kendall Grove. He traveled a long, long way to lose.

A late injury replacement for Dutch knockout artist Melvin Manhoef, Grove submitted to a second round Achilles lock from Mamed Khalidov in the KSW 21 “Final Resolution” headliner on Saturday at the Torwar Arena in Warsaw, Poland.

Suffered nearly 7,500 miles from his Hawaiian home, the defeat snapped Grove’s modest three-fight winning streak. He is 5-2 since being discarded by the Ultimate Fighting Championship following consecutive losses to 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist Demian Maia and the world-ranked Tim Boetsch.

Khalidov (26-4-2) had issues with Grove’s height and reach, often settling for leg kicks in rather pedestrian exchanges on the feet. In the second round, the 32-year-old Chechen moved to top position on Grove, fought through an armbar and isolated a foot for the finish.

In the co-main event, Michal Materla retained his middleweight crown with a quick and brutal first-round knockout against UFC exile Rodney Wallace. Materla (18-3) has won six fights in a row.

Meanwhile, Aslambek Saidov won for the eighth time in nine appearances and became the first welterweight titleholder in KSW history when a second-round leg injury resulted in a technical knockout against Borys Mankowski. Saidov (13-3) now owns a 9-1 mark in KSW.

Elsewhere, World Extreme Cagefighting and UFC veteran Maciej Jewtuszko avenged one of his two career defeats, as he submitted Artur Sowinski with a second-round brabo choke to capture the vacant KSW lightweight crown. Jewtuszko (10-2) coaxed the tapout 4:01 into round two.

Finally, former International Fight League middleweight champion Matt Horwich put away fellow UFC castaway Terry Martin with punches from the mount in the second round.

Horwich (28-21-1) ran a clinic on Martin in the grappling department, neutralizing the Chicagoan’s notoriously heavy hands. The 34-year-old stepped up his attack late in round two, as he moved to mount and forged the finish with unanswered strikes from above. Martin, 32, has lost two of his last three fights.

In other action, the unbeaten Karolina Kowalkiewicz earned a unanimous verdict over Paulina Bonkowska in the lone women’s matchup, while once-beaten middleweight Piotr Strus rebounded from his first professional setback -- a submission defeat to Wendres Carlos da Silva in April -- to score a second-round technical knockout against Krzysztof Kulak.