Like a spider, Kendall "Da Spyder" Grove is patiently waiting for the day when he can capture championship prey in mixed martial arts.

For now, he is spinning a web of success in the prestigious Ultimate Fighting Championship organization.

Grove, who is from Wailuku, Maui, will take on Canada's Patrick Cote on the undercard of the UFC 74 event Saturday at Las Vegas. The card — heavyweight champion Randy Couture will defend his title against Gabriel Gonzaga in the main event — will be televised nationally through pay-per-view.

"I'm still young and I want to take the time to get better," said Grove, 24. "I know I'm not ready for a title fight yet, but I hope to be in maybe a year-and-a-half or so."

Grove has a professional record of 10-3, including 5-0 in UFC-sanctioned bouts. Cote is 11-4. The bout will be in the middleweight division (185 pounds).

"Patrick is a good striker, and if I don't come with it, he's going to knock my jaw into the third row," Grove said. "But I'm going to be trying to do the same thing to him, so it should be a good fight."

Grove burst into the UFC spotlight in June 2006 when he won The Ultimate Fighter 3 reality series on Spike TV. His reward was a three-year contract with the UFC, worth around $100,000 per year.

A hand injury and a clause in his contract that keeps him exclusive with the UFC have limited Grove to two fights in the past 14 months.

"I would have been fighting more, but I fractured my hand (last October) and that set me back a couple months," he said. "But everything's good now. I still have six fights left with the UFC, so there's lots of time for me to catch up."

The UFC champion in the middleweight division is Brazil's Anderson Silva. Grove said he would like to fight Silva ... just not right away.

"I have to keep training, keep getting better to reach that level," Grove said. "There's been talk of the UFC coming to Hawai'i in like a year-and-a-half, so maybe I could fight for a title then if everything falls into place."

Until then, Grove is focused on Cote.

Grove has been training in Las Vegas for most of the past five years. He is now a part of the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas, where he trains with the heavyweight champ Couture — a legendary competitor in the sport of MMA.

"There's unbelievable guys to work out with here (in Las Vegas)," Grove said. "I take pride in my conditioning, so I'm working hard every day."

Grove is nicknamed "Da Spyder" because of his long limbs, and at 6 feet 6, he is often several inches taller than his opponents. Cote, for example, is 5-11.

What's more, Grove is equally adept at striking and grappling. Nine of his 10 victories have come via knockout or opponent submission.

"I'm going to stand with (Cote), but if I have to, I know I can take him to the ground, too," Grove said.

Before moving to Las Vegas, Grove's training started on Maui with jiu-jitsu and wrestling. In an effort to "stay down to earth," Grove said he recently invited three of his friends from Maui to move in with him.

"I don't forget where I came from," he said. "I'm always going to have that Hawai'i mentality. I wish I could fight in Hawai'i more for the people there, but my contract won't allow it. But that doesn't change me. I'm always going to be willing to give everything I have in every fight for Hawai'i."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.