Former three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen feels that middleweight contender Tim Kennedy has complained about his latest loss against Yoel Romero for far too long and it’s time to move on.
Of course, the silver-tongued “American Gangster” said it with a little more colorful language than that on this week’s edition of his You’re Welcome podcast (transcription per MMA Fighting).
Tim Kennedy is one cranky and bitter son of a b—h. Have you seen some of the stuff he’s saying lately? He’s threatening to never come back to the sport because he’s so upset about ‘stoolgate.’ This guy is one of these guys that, for me, he gets a pass. I’m an American, he’s an American hero. He served the country well. He did some things. He’s a hero. That’s where it ends. But the guy says some stuff that if he wasn’t a hero… Somebody needs to tell him to shut up. Tim, you gotta stop, man. You’re so bitter.
Fellow middleweight contender Michael Bisping, who lost a lopsided decision to Kennedy in April, was a guest on the podcast and stated that Kennedy should’ve taken the loss to Romero “like a man,” which Sonnen agreed with.
Kennedy, the No. 7 middleweight in the world, according to the UFC’s official rankings, entered his UFC 178 matchup against Romero riding a four-fight win streak and was knocking on the door of title contention.
Despite getting outwrestled and outstruck for the better part of the September contest, Kennedy landed a big flurry at the end of the second round that left the “Soldier of God” badly rocked.
In between rounds, Romero spent an extra 25 seconds or so on his stool to recover before rallying back to score a TKO early in the third frame.
In the aftermath of the controversial bout, Kennedy, a U.S. Army sergeant first class, said both referee John McCarthy and the Nevada State Athletic Commission dropped the ball and noted that he may not return to the Octagon following knee surgery, per MMA Fighting.
Romero, the No. 6 fighter in the UFC’s rankings, is scheduled to take on surging ex-Strikeforce champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at UFC 184 in February in what could be an unofficial title eliminator fight.
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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