(Photo courtesy of Tim’s official Facebook fan page.)
by CagePotato contributor Matt Kaplan
Tim Kennedy is a family man, a rising MMA star, and a war hero. He is guided by a strong moral compass and upholds what he thinks is right. As a result, he will no doubt rub some of you the wrong way.
He is unapologetically pro-military. He thinks that too many high-profile fighters are irresponsible, and that your favorite scary MMA t-shirt is lame. His shorts will never promote alcohol, tobacco, gambling, or pornography, and he snickers at nicknames that have “Killer” or “Assassin” in them. He takes seriously his role as a professional athlete and would like to see more of the MMA community follow his lead.
For some of you, Tim’s patriotism and wholesome principles are breaths of fresh air. Others, however, might be wondering if his high horse actually has a name. Either way, there’s no denying that Tim is one of MMA’s most quintessential warriors (for real).
A U.S. Army Staff Sergeant with the 19th Special Forces Group, Tim is a trained sniper and combatives instructor whose combat heroism has earned him the Bronze Star. Now, with an already impressive military record to his credit, Tim is preparing for just his second fight as a full-time fighter and has already lined up in his crosshairs the Strikeforce middleweight championship belt.
On June 16 at Strikeforce: Los Angeles, Tim Kennedy (11-2) will climb into the cage with rugged South African veteran Trevor Prangley (22-5-1), his biggest test to date. Tim has yet to fight someone with the combination of size, strength, toughness, and experience that is Prangley, so he’s keeping to a basic plan of attack: dominate the fight in every possible way. Why get fancy, right?
CAGEPOTATO.COM: Your last fight was against Zak Cummings back in September. Why the long lay-off?