Kendall Grove was a bit torn during the Female Pee-Wee 3 Light Division final of the Pan Kids IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championships on Saturday night in Kissimmee, Fla.

The professional fighter from Maui was watching his 9-year-old twin daughters face off for the title and he knew one would win and one would not.

Kendall Grove won The Ultimate Fighter title in season 3 in 2006, has fought in the UFC, Bellator and Bare Knuckle Boxing and has a pro record of 24-19.

“Honestly, I have a lot of accomplishments and I think I’ve done a lot to help grow the sport on Maui and what I’ve done, I’ve done, but being able to pass on what I’ve learned — my involvement in the sport, jiu-jitsu and MMA — test it by teaching my kids, teaching my kids at a young age, watch them take in what I give them, I love it,” Grove said via phone on Tuesday. “To make it happen, it’s just so rewarding. It just overshadows what I’ve done in my career.

“If I keep them on this path, the possibilities are endless.”

Taupou Grove defeated her sister Telia in their final, and younger brother Ares, 6, won the Male Mighty Mite Heavy Division.

“Ares is 6, this is his first big tournament — he went out there and he killed it,” Kendall Grove said.

Taupou and Telia start fourth grade at Lihikai Elementary School next week.

“Good,” Taupou said of the feeling when she prevailed against her sister. “It felt good, I wasn’t nervous. We hugged after the match. I told her ‘good match.’ ”

“It’s fun,” Telia was quick to add. “I like my dad as a coach. I do beat her in practice. When she wins, it’s OK.”

Taimane Grove, 11, was second in the Female Junior 2 Heavy Division and Teata Grove, 13, was third in the Female Teen 2 Heavy Division.

The oldest Grove sibling is Toa, who is a standout high school football player in Pennsylvania, where he moved to during the pandemic shutdown of the Maui Interscholastic League season in 2020.

The youngest five Grove children are part of the I & I MMA Academy that their father runs — the gym has about 70 youth fighters, many of whom train on scholarship. Grove said his program is called Wai Side Jiu-Jitsu.

The Grove twins met in a final in Las Vegas last September, and Taupou edged her sister in that one as well.

“Me and their mom joked ‘what if they meet in the (final)’ and they did, it happened, so we went into this tournament we told them ‘it’s a possibility, but you guys go out there and you do it,’ and once again, they did not disappoint,” Kendall Grove said. “They had a match where everyone in the gymnasium was locked on it. They were battling back and forth and doing it with a smile on their face.

“They put on a show and kind of made my day, watching them just go out there and have fun. One’s got to win and one’s got to lose.”

Kendall Grove added, “Me and my wife was on opposite sides, she was coaching one, I was coaching the other. And I found myself coaching the opposite one, but then I found myself coaching both of them.

“I just wanted them to go out there and do their thing. Just knowing one was going to win and one was going to lose broke my heart, but after they hugged each other. They accomplished their goal.”

The Grove twins emerged in the final of a division that had nine competitors.

“At the end of the day at least she lost to her sister — that’s what she said, ‘If I’m going to lose, at least I lost to my sister,’ ” Kendall Grove said. “They train together in the gym and they make each other better.”

Two other I & I competitors made the trip — Evionne Pellazar and Ian Pegoraro each picked up their first match wins in a Mainland tournament.

The event also included seven competitors from the Aloha Roll Academy in Lahaina — Chase Loebl and Rio Russell each finished second in their divisions, Safirah Ladore and Makana Godwin both took third, while Lyric Austin, Raider Mitchell and Ranger Mitchell also competed.

Kendall Grove hasn’t fought a match of any kind since 2020, but he is not ready to call himself retired — he turns 40 on Nov. 12.

“Never say never,” he said. “I’d say one foot out, one foot still in, dabbling with both (boxing and MMA). This (coaching) is taking a lot of my interest, but as a coach I feel like I need to compete. It just makes for a better product, win or lose, it just shows my students: ‘Hey, yeah, my (expletive) coach is down. He’s still in it, he’s still trying to win.’ … A lot of coaches don’t compete.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.