Tim Kennedy has never been one to mince words.
The brash talking Texan keeps busy when he’s not mixing it up inside the cage as he’s engaged in multiple beefs with his fellow middleweights over a multitude of public formats. The former Strikeforce title challenger turned UFC contender even took to Twitter following his recent victory over Michael Bisping back in April and turned the hot lamps on the MMA pundits who picked against him in the tilt.
While his outspoken nature has certainly produced friction at times, it hasn’t deterred the decorated military veteran from calling things the way he sees them. This is especially the case when it comes to the topic of PED (performance-enhancing drug) usage in mixed martial arts as the Jackson-Winkeljohn-trained fighter has consistently used his growing profile to push for a cleaner sport.
That particular subject came front and center once again at the media day for UFC 178 on Thursday as Kennedy spoke to MMA Fighting about his concern over the lack of drug testing in the sport. He suggested people may be tired of hearing him gripe about it, but that’s because they are not the ones putting themselves in danger inside the Octagon.
Have one of those people b——g about it go fight somebody who’s on performance-enhancing drugs and have their shin put up against their head. Spinning heel kick them. It’s a bunch of people behind a keyboard complaining about performance-enhancing drugs and why we shouldn’t be whining about it. This isn’t baseball. We’re not hitting balls out of a park. We’re not kicking a soccer ball, we’re not riding a bicycle. We’re trying to knock each other out. It changes the use of PEDs a little bit.
Another topic that came up during the interview is current No. 1 contender and former poster boy for the now-defunct TRT (testosterone-replacement therapy) movement Vitor Belfort.
The Phenom experienced one of the most dominant resurgences in recent memory as he hammered his way up the middleweight ladder in 2013 on the strength of three consecutive knockout victories, all of which came against top-ranked competition.
Belfort’s impressive run—as controversial as it was—earned the 37-year-old a title shot against Chris Weidman at UFC 175. Nevertheless, a failed drug test and the banning of TRT delayed that opportunity for several months, but the Team Blackzilians fighter will ultimately get the shot he’s been waiting for.
The middleweight title clash was originally set to go down at UFC 181 on Dec. 6, but due to an injury suffered by Weidman, the bout has been pushed back to February 2015.
While this delay will provide Belfort more time to prepare, Kennedy believes the Brazilian knockout artist doesn’t stand a chance.
Guess what? Steroids work. They do. You want to look like Vitor [Belfort] did two years ago? Use steroids. You want to perform like he did? Use steroids. They’re amazing. If you want to look like how Vitor looks now, don’t use steroids and then try to compete against guys like us that work hard.
Thirty-percent chance [Belfort] doesn’t show up. Forty-five-percent chance that he tests positive or gets hurt. So, 25-percent chance he shows up on fight night. If he makes it, that means he hasn’t been using because he’ll get tested, and he’ll get murdered. If he doesn’t make it, it’s because he realized that he has no chance without his magic juice.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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