Minowa to Meet ‘Spyder’ Grove at ProElite 3 in January

No bouts have been officially announced for the event, though the show is expected to emanate from the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. MMAFighting.com first reported the Minowa-Grove matchup on Tuesday afternoon.

Minowa, 35, is a veteran of Pancrase, Pride, Deep and Dream competition. The submission specialist from Gifu, Japan, made his MMA debut in 1996 and has since racked up more than 90 professional contests. “Minowaman” rides a four-fight winning streak into his showdown with Grove, most recently submitting Young Woo Yu via kimura on Oct. 30.

The middleweight winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3, Grove fought 13 times for the world’s largest promotion before receiving his walking papers on the heels of back-to-back losses. The Hawaiian made his ProElite debut on Aug. 27, submitting fellow UFC vet Joe Riggs with a guillotine choke in just 59 seconds.

The former parent company of the now-defunct EliteXC organization, ProElite reappeared on the MMA landscape earlier this year and streamed its first event on Sherdog.com in August. Owned by Stratus Media Group, the company aired its sophomore November show live on HDNet.