Tim Kennedy, who is set to do battle with Roger Gracie on Saturday at UFC 162, sat down with our very own Jeremy Brand for MMASucka Radio. The former marine touched on a number of topics, and here are some of the highlights
Not every Strikeforce fighter made their way to the UFC? Did Kennedy ever think he might not make it to the UFC after Strikeforce ended?
“No, y’know what? I never think about any of that stuff. Fighting, I do because I enjoy fighting. I don’t fight for the notoriety or the press. I love the fans and I love fighting… That stuff was never on the forefront of my consideration.”
With “Octagan Jitters” being a very real thing, will Kennedy feel the effects? Or will his history in big fights in Strikeforce, as well as his military background help him avoid that?
“I think maybe a little bit. I think my personality, and me as a person, I’m just not a stressed-out person. I don’t get all worked up over really inconsequential stuff. Ultimately, it comes down to who’s across the cage from me. Regardless if I’m in a cage, a ring, or even a freakin’ horse shoe, it still just comes down that I have to fight a dude that’s right across from me.”
Tim Kennedy’s always been known as a funny guy with the wide range of videos he’s appeared in. Can we expect any more of his tongue-in-cheek videos?
“Yeah, we have a whole bunch of ones. Brian Stann is in one coming up, but for this fight I’m just real focused. I didn’t have as many distractions, like putting on a skirt and a wig and dancing around like Katy Perry. I had a job to do, and that’s to get ready for this fight.”
With his much-vaunted jiu jitsu background, is Roger Gracie the toughest fight for Tim to date? Is he a bigger threat any anybody else he’s faced?
“He’s really, really talented. He’s a really gifted jiu jitsu fighter, probably the best on the planet… There’s a lot of dudes out there that compete in jiu jitsu, and he is head and shoulders above them all. That’s not only because he’s really tall, but also because he’s really good! I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s the best, because I’ve fought a lot of guys. He’s very dangerous, but and I need to be totally ready for how dangerous he is.”
Kennedy’s not a slouch on the ground, but because his Roger Gracie’s jiu jitsu such a factor in this fight that he’ll want to keep it on the feet as much as possible?
“No, because it’s a mixed martial arts fight. I don’t have this aversion to go, “I’m on the ground with a Gracie!” I’m on the ground with a dude I want to punch in the face. At no point am I going to be scared to do a takedown, or throw a shot. I’m going to be ready for where ever the fight goes. Don’t get me wrong, I really respect how dangerous he is in some positions – I’m not going to be pulling guard on Roger Gracie, it’s not a great idea – but does it mean I’m not going to the ground with him? No.”
With the conspiracy theories stating that Luke Rockhold nodded at Vitor Belfort to throw that (fight-ending) spinning back kick, what does Kennedy think?
“That’s crazy. Luke, that guy is super competetive. I know he’s laid-back, he’s a surfer, but don’t be deceived by the good looking, Superman-esque persona that is Luke Rockhold. That guy is a total competitor, and he’d never throw a fight. He’s a good dude. He went out there, got caught, and that happens. I still think he can go in there and do very well with anybody in the middleweight division. It’s MMA, there are very few exceptions where a guy remains undefeated.”
Would Kennedy like Anderson Silva to stick around in the middleweight division long enough to get his hands on him? Well, he was very vocal on that.
“Of course! If you’re in the sport and you don’t want to fight the best in the world, then you need to get out. He’s the best, he’s been the best for 10 years. I would love nothing more than to be in a position and go, “Hey, I deserve to fight Anderson Silva.” I don’t deserve to fight Anderson Silva right now, I need to some big wins and make some statements that I belong in this promotion and in this division. Then, once I do that, then we’ll see what bridges I’m gonna cross.”
Tim has trained for MMA full-time while also staying on active duty and having family. What’s the hardest part about training and doing service at the same time?
“Seeing your family. I have 24 hours in a day, I sleep 3-4 hours I’m good to go. My family needs attention, like getting time with my kids, spending time with my wife. Those are the hard parts, just juggling the schedule, the hours it takes. MMA, you have to spend so much time, you have to practice and be disciplined in so many different forms of martial arts that there’s just not enough time in the day. And then I have to shoot, then I have to plan for ammo forecasts, then I have to set up a range. There’s just not enough time in a day.”
Kennedy stirred up controversy recently when he spoke out on fighter pay. He’s always spoken his mind, but did he expect the uproar or any backlash from Zuffa?
“No. They knew what they got when they hired me. I’ve always been outspoken, I’ve never been one to be temperate or walk the line of (being) conservative. I’m going to say what I think, and there are repercussions, always, to the things that you say. If I’m saying them, then I’ve already considered them. Has it been blown out with the fact that Bleacher Report’s running with articles and they’re taking sentences from a full interview? Eh, maybe they’re blown out of proportion, but I don’t care. I said it and it’s very specific. I was being realistic, here’s what I’m making, how much I have to pay my trainers, how much I pay my management. I have to buy gear, shorts, gloves, headgear, mouthpieces. It’s the nature of the sport. I’ve never been told that we can’t discuss money. If I’m told by my boss, “Don’t talk about money,” then I won’t talk about my money. If you take Quickbooks, and you show here’s your income, x number of dollars, here’s what you’re spending, x number of dollars, here’s your income before taxes. It’s pretty straightforward, it’s accounting. Not a big deal here. I just went over that. Hopefully nobody gets mad at me.”
