The absolute war between middleweights Kendall Grove and Ed Herman was so outstanding, so close and so riveting that both fighters walked away from the Octagon with official UFC contracts. Sure, Grove won the fight in the eyes of the three official Nevada State Athletic Commission judges, but the winner was actually anyone involved with this great sport.

For three rounds Grove and Herman seesawed back and forth between dominator and victim. The two mighty men latched on seemingly inescapable submission holds, only to somehow be reversed or swept aside from having the locks picked. It was almost a carbon copy of the brilliant action between Diego Sanchez and Nick Diaz, but so much more was on the line tonight.

Both fighters refused to budge no matter how badly beaten they were or how low the gauge on their gas tanks. In fact, the action was at a dramatic climax — literally — until the final horn sounded to end the fight. Herman was caught in a rear-naked choke and was somehow able to hang on until time expired.

Herman has been criticized as a somewhat boring fighter even before the show aired, but for anyone to call him boring now would be foolhardy. His war with Grove will go down in the books as one of the best, most action-packed and dramatic battles in the history of the UFC. The Joint inside the Hard Rock was split evenly between fans of both fighters and by the fight’s end, the opposing fans were cheering for the other guy out of respect.

The fight was that good.

Grove wound up nabbing the victory after being awarded scores of 29-28 by all three judges. Both survived multiple submission attempts; each had their moments of sheer ground-and-pound brutality; and both were bloody and limping around the venue after the fight finally ended.

The UFC is known for rematches and there will undoubtedly be one for this fight. While it wasn’t as epic as Griffin-Bonnar, Ortiz-Frank Shamrock or Goodridge-Frye I or II, it ranks up there with the best.

UFC president Dana White did the right thing by giving a six-figure contract to Herman even though his hand wasn’t raised in victory.

Everyone at Cobra Kai would like to congratulate Kendall on his outstanding performance!!!!