Tim Kennedy
Interview by Robert Sargent
Speaking with MMARising.com, decorated U.S. Special Forces member and middleweight MMA standout Tim Kennedy discusses his military career, a recent return to full-time fighting and what he would like to accomplish in the coming months.
Once ranked among the top ten middleweights in the world, Kennedy graduated from Columbia College in Missouri and soon enlisted in the Army in early 2004. Travelling overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan, Kennedy became an Army Ranger and later accomplished his goal of becoming a member of the elite U.S. Special Forces Green Berets. Now, having dedicated many of the best years of his life to serving his country, Kennedy has a new goal, and that is to become a world champion in mixed martial arts.
MMARising.com: Hi, Tim. First of all, thank you for taking time out for this interview. For those who might not be familiar with your past, could you please provide a bit of background information and tell us when you first became interested in combat sports?
Tim Kennedy: My mom was a pretty artistic woman. She was an artist herself, and she believed that her boys should be well-diversified with different cultural experiences. She made my brother and I take cooking classes, art lessons, piano lessons and some other stuff. My dad was trying to compensate for my mother's influence, so he took us shooting and made us take martial arts. I got into Japanese Jiu-Jitsu and some different striking arts.
MMARising.com: You have also had a lengthy tenure in the U.S. military. Could you tell us when you first decided to join the Army and what ranks/awards you have held to date?
Tim: I enlisted in January 2004. The events on 9/11 had a major impact on this decision.
Military Accomplishments:
- Principle combative instructor for C Company 3rd Battalion 7th Special Forces Group.
- Assigned to Operation Detachment Alpha for 3 years.
- Currently assigned to ODA Sniper HALO Team.
- Three-time All Army Combative Champion.
- Deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
- Deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Schools:
Special Forces Operators Preparation Course 1, Special Forces Qualification Course, Special Operations Language Training 1, Primary Leadership Development Course, Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course, SERE High Risk (Level C), Peacetime Government & Hostage Detention (Level C), Special Forces Weapons Sergeant Course, Infantry Training, Airborne, Pre-Ranger, Ranger, Special Forces Advance Reconnaissance Target Analysis and Exploitation Techniques, Sensitive Site Exploitation, USSOCOM Joint Armorer's Small Arms Maintenance Course, High Risk Personal Security Detachment Course, Subversion and Espionage Directed Against the Army (SAEDA), Special Forces Sniper School.
Awards:
Bronze Star, Joint Service Accommodation Medal, Army Accommodation Medal (x2), Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NATO Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon.
MMARising.com: Those are incredible accomplishments. Now, having recently returned from another tour of the Middle East as a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces – and one of the most elite soldiers in the world – what was the transition like in getting back to training for mixed martial arts?
Tim: Training for MMA is way easier than getting ready for combat. I feel way more selfish. I'm training 2-3 times per day, but I'm only worrying about whether I'm getting faster, if I'm getting stronger or if my combos are getting better. It's kind of egocentric. I kind of miss working with my sniper partner every day. Training with my team every morning, eating together, bleeding together and, most of all, the loyalty that exists in an environment like that.
MMARising.com: Knowing that you are not able to discuss many of the things that you have experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan, can you provide us with a bit of information (in whatever detail possible) as to your responsibilities when you are in military uniform?
Tim: Shoot well, move well and communicate well. Outside of that, no.
MMARising.com: While you have had a number of noteworthy battles inside the cage, it has also come to my attention that you waged a series of pay-per-view-worthy battles with many of the critters who dwell in the Middle East. Which would you say have been the most annoying to deal with to date?
Tim: I would say the kamikaze flies of Iraq. Those little bastards would dive bomb into the only water source they could find. That water source was our eyes. That, or the bedbugs of Afghanistan. Those little suckers (pun intended) were relentless.
MMARising.com: You have expressed tremendous respect for "Charlie," a particularly crafty bedbug who parachuted from a light bulb in order to get to your strategically-placed bed. How would Charlie rank against foes you have met inside the cage, such as Jason "Mayhem" Miller?
Tim: I would say that Charlie was tougher than anyone I have ever met in the cage. The thing with the bedbugs was that they fought fair (unlike some of my MMA opponents). So, I would take the blood-sucking vampire night-time demons.
MMARising.com: In your blogs from overseas, you commented that you typically walk around while wearing "Ranger panties" and never shave. Is this a tactic that you might employ in an MMA fight to throw your opponent off of his game?
Tim: I'm not sure that the athletic commission or my fans would ever like to see me like that. The locals were frightened enough.
MMARising.com: You've also commented that one of your typical activities while at Forward Operating Bases is to find random (and often destroyed) items and throw/slam them repeatedly. What would you say was your favourite item to toss around?
Tim: Transmissions and ammo crates filled with sand.
MMARising.com: Did your fellow soldiers continue to water and take care of your prized pomegranate tree after you flew back home?
Tim: I know that it's still there and still producing fruit.
MMARising.com: Shifting focus back to your MMA career, you were once ranked among the top 10 middleweights in the world before you joined the U.S. Army in early 2004. How many big wins do you feel that you'd need to string together in order to get back to that level?
Tim: I'm more focused on the long road ahead to championships. I have a lot of things to work on. I want to see the gradual improvement in certain areas of my fight game.
MMARising.com: Your most recent fight, a second-round victory over the ever-tough Nick "The Goat" Thompson, was very impressive. Having seen it live, it did not appear to me that you had much (if any) ring rust, despite being away from fighting for 18 months. Did you feel at (or near) the top of your game?
Tim: I felt great, but I wasn't happy with my performance. I took a very conservative approach to that fight. I didn't take any chances. It wasn't the most explosive performance that I have had. I'm going to be working with some of the best athletes and trainers in the world over the next few months. I think that I'll be on top of my game in a very short time.
MMARising.com: At the end of the fight, after Nick submitted to your punches, he seemed to complain about illegal strikes. Replays showed that two or three of your punches had grazed or partially struck the back of his head, but it was clear that it was unintentional and he had turned his face away repeatedly. What are your thoughts on the end of the fight?
Tim: The athletic commission was very specific about where we were allowed to strike. The 2-3 inches down the back of the head, kind of like the Liddell Mohawk, was off-limits. I landed one or two shots and, as the third punch was about to land, Nick turned away and it grazed the back of his head. He tapped a few seconds later. I'm very confident in how I performed. I'm a very clean fighter. I would never do anything illegal. The only strikes that got close were the ones that Nick turned his head into.
MMARising.com: Nick also seemed to be extremely displeased with having to compete at 185 pounds (he is a natural welterweight and has been in and out of the top 10 for years), but he appeared to be the larger fighter of the two of you. Had you met at a catchweight of, say, 178 pounds, do you feel that the fight's outcome would have been the same?
Tim: I think that the results would have been the same.
MMARising.com: You had a very successful run in the International Fight League, but your most famous fights to date are likely your two battles with the aforementioned Jason "Mayhem" Miller. Having split decisions with him (though his victory can arguably be attributed to not being docked a point for an illegal elbow), is it safe to assume that you'd be all for a rubber match?
Tim: I would love to fight him again, but we would have to have a very experienced referee; one that would be confident in calling people for illegal actions.
MMARising.com: Aside from Miller, who are some other top fighters at the middleweight level that you would like to face in the coming months and years?
Tim: Dennis Hallman, Paulo Filho, Robbie Lawler, Matt Lindland, Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos and Frank Shamrock. Really, anyone Strikeforce wants me to fight.
MMARising.com: What would you say is the best part of your MMA game, and which part is the most underrated?
Tim: I would say that my KO power and speed are the best parts of my game, and my striking is the most underrated. I have not had the opportunity to showcase how great my stand-up is yet.
MMARising.com: Which areas do you feel that you still need to work on in order to compete among the division's best?
Tim: I need to work on some of the finer details; the stuff that judges see. I also need to work on my jiu-jitsu.
MMARising.com: You have recently commented that you are trying to work with the Army to establish a schedule that would allow you to fight full-time while maintaining your military duties. Do you expect a full-time return to the ring/cage in the near future?
Tim: I am training full-time now. Fighting is my job.
MMARising.com: If you pick up some solid wins and the UFC comes calling, would you eagerly accept an invitation to fight for them or are you happy competing for fast-rising promotions like Strikeforce?
Tim: I think that Strikeforce has the best stable of guys in my weight class in the world. Outside of Anderson Silva and Demian Maia, all of the great guys are in Strikeforce.
MMARising.com: Following his victory over Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, "Smokin'" Joe Villasenor stated that he would like to compete for the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship soon if champion Cung Le ever comes back to fighting. Would a title eliminator bout with Villasenor be of interest to you?
Tim: I would love to fight him. I think it would be a very exciting fight.
MMARising.com: What are some things that fans can expect from Tim Kennedy in the next year?
Tim: I'll be training a lot more and training with some of the best guys around. I think that you are going to be seeing a much more explosive and dynamic athlete who has fine-tuned some of the neglected areas of his game. That, and more fights.
MMARising.com: What is the one thing that you would most like to be known for when you have competed in your final MMA fight?
Tim: Being a professional representative of the sport, and an ambassador to the military. I want people to know me not only as a fighter, but more importantly as a person who has sacrificed the best years of his life to serve his country.
MMARising.com: Do you have any final comments or shout-outs to friends or sponsors?
Tim: I want to thank God for giving me the ability to do what I do. I want to thank all of my brothers and sisters in uniform for fighting for our freedom, and thank you to my family. A special thanks to RANGERUP.COM for always supporting me and for making the funniest, most bad-ass shirts around, to Max Muscle for helping me recover and to Soldier's Angels for taking care of our hurt and wounded soldiers.
MMARising.com: Thank you again for taking the time for this interview, and we wish you all the best in your future endeavours both inside and outside of the cage.
Tim: Thanks.
MMARising.com would like to thank Tim for his time for this in-depth interview. Tim is a true patriot and hero to his country, and the mixed martial arts community is lucky to have him as a part of this great sport.
