Tim Kennedy
With a second straight Strikeforce event coming under the chopping block, fighters from both cards have been left wondering when they can expect to fight again in order to earn their next paycheck.
One of those effected is former middleweight contender Tim Kennedy (14-4), who had been training for a bout with Trevor ‘Hot Sauce’ Smith (10-2) on the now cancelled November 3, 2012 event.
Kennedy told MMAjunkie.com recently, telling them that he he is already “out between $10-12,000″ in expenses but expects to be included on the upcoming January card, whether it’s against Smith or another opponent.
“I was actually in a training session with Andrew Craig and Colton Smith from ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and Rodrigo Cabral doing wrestling stuff,” said Kennedy. “The guy behind the counter at the gym is like, ‘Hey Tim, are you on the Nov. 3 card?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s why I’m here, evidently.’ (He says), ‘Ha-ha. Not anymore.’”
“I was really mad at that point,” he said. “But moments later, (Strikeforce matchmaker) Sean Shelby called me from Brazil, and he was super cool. He’s like, ‘There’s nothing we can do. We found out online just like you did that Showtime wasn’t going to be televising the event, and if the fight’s not televised, Strikeforce isn’t going to have a card.’”
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Kennedy still plans a return to hard training next week in anticipation of his January appearance. At this point, he’s unaware whether he’ll be facing Smith or get another opponent, but either is fine.
“Unfortunately, we have a limited roster in Strikeforce now, and there’s really only a couple guys left at 185 for me to fight. I’ve vocalized wanting to fight Roger Gracie. Smith is a big guy at 185, and I’m exciting about that fight. But I’ll fight whoever.”
Kennedy will enter his next fight on a loss, having suffered a unanimous decision defeat against division champ Luke Rockhold this past July in Oregon. The former Special Forces operative had won two straight matches previous, beating Robbie Lawler and Melvin Manhoef.