The world of mixed martial arts has witnessed a great influx of people around the world over the years. While some made it their sole career run, others who just have a passion for it despite other chosen career paths still ventured into it to explore the opportunities. The last set of people describes Tim Kennedy who became known for his feats as a mixed martial artist despite his work as a military man.
It is also interesting to know that, Tim, who has been an MMA fighter for many years, has garnered a lot of acclaim in organizations like the Strikeforce and the UFC. He won several fights during his active days in the ring and he is an excellent example of one who balanced the demands of both the military and mixed martial arts perfectly.
Tim Kennedy Won The Extreme Challenge 50 As A Budding Mixed Martial Artist
Tim Kennedy was born as Timothy Fred Kennedy on the 1st of September 1979 in Luis Obispo, California, the United States, into the Christian family of Mike Kennedy. He attended Eagle Academy High School and graduated in the year 1998. As a young boy, Tim’s mother had enrolled him in piano and cooking lessons to improve on his artistic side, however, his father was not in support of this move, hence, decided to enroll both Tim and his brother for boxing lessons, shooting school, wrestling squad, and Japanese jujitsu classes.
For college, Tim attended Columbia College of Missouri and graduated in 2002 with a degree in Criminal Justice. While in college, he competed in sanctioned mixed martial arts fighting where he thrived and went on to train at Dokan School of Martial Arts located in Atascadero, California. It was after his time at this school that he entered into the Extreme Challenge 50 held in 2003. He was involved in 3 fights during the one-night tournament and emerged the winner in all 3.
Although he would join the United States Army in 2004, Tim Kennedy remained very active as a fighter. He was seen in one combat in 2006 and the next year, he fought in the then International Fight League. However, he was not seen in any fights in 2008 as his duties in the military took him overseas.
Tim Recorded Several Wins In The Strikeforce Tournaments
In 2009, Kennedy was back on stage as a mixed martial artist, and that year, he fought with Nick Thompson during the Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg which took place in Kent, Washington. He defeated Nick Thompson and shortly after, he won his fight with Zak Cummings in the grand finale of ShoMMA 3.
The next year, the MMA fighter and Trevor Prangley fought at Strikeforce: Los Angeles on June 16th, 2010. Tim won the match in the first round via submission. However, he lost his next match which was held on August 21st, 2010. This was the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship held in Houston and his opponent was Ronaldo Souza. He would then record another win in the Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson via unanimous decision. Tim also recorded another win at Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine on January 12th, 2013.
The Move To UFC Brought The MMA Fighter More Wins
The Strikeforce organization was shut down in January 2013 by Zuffa – its parent company. This led to the organization selling off some fighters to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Tim Kennedy was part of them.
Kennedy was then scheduled for a fight against Roger Gracie at the UFC 162 which was on July 6th, 2013. He defended all the submission attempts made by Gracie during the fight and eventually won via unanimous decision. He was then scheduled to fight Lyoto Machida at the UFC Fight For The Troops 3 on November 12, 2013, however, Lyoto was later matched against Mark Muñoz at UFC Night 30 which took place on October 26th, 2013. So, Kennedy had to face Rafael Natal on the slated day of his fight with Lyoto and he won during the first round via knockout. He also won the Night bonus award for the first time in the UFC.
Tim Kennedy recorded his third win in the UFC when he fought Micael Bisping at The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale on April 16, 2014. However, the MMA fighter would record a loss in his fight with Yoel Romero which caused controversy as Tim was about to win but for a delay in the match, he lost. Tim was still given a Fight of the Night bonus award, even though he lost the fight.
He Also Exhibits Excellent Combat Skills As A Military Officer
Tim Kennedy joined the military a year after he completed his college education and in the US Army, he was enlisted in the elite Special Forces. He was also trained under different programs some of which include, Basic Combat Training, Basic Airborne Course, Advanced Individual Training, and the Special Forces Qualification Courses. He eventually completed the Ranger School in 2007 and served on Operational Detachment Alphas when he was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group.
His excellent combat skills got Kennedy a spot among those who were often deployed on rescue support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has also been set among the troops to tackle the war in Afganistan, and participated in Operation Juniper Shield. For his years of service and the excellent work he did, Tim received the military Bronze Star Medal with V device which is usually given for valor under fire.
The Retired MMA Fighter Is Still Active As A Military Man & Business Owner
Out of 24 games in the MMA, Tim Kennedy maintained 18 wins and in amateur games, he holds an impeccable record of 30 wins out of 31 games. However, after being off the fighting scene for 2 years since 2014, he attempted a comeback in 2016 but that was not successful as he lost the matches. He finally decided to leave the fighting scene for good on January 17th, 2017.
According to the fighter, he was in ‘a slow motion’ during his last game against Kelvin Gastelum which he eventually lost. The 37-year-old believed his body was getting slow and that should be due to his age. He broke the news of his retirement on Facebook and it was received with lots of mixed feelings from fans.
Upon his retirement as a mixed martial artist, it is believed that Tim is now a full-time military man – he was reenlisted into the army in 2017. It is also known that he is a co-owner of the military-based clothing company, Ranger Up. However, it is possible that the fighter will soon return to the fighting ring as he revealed on Twitter in early 2019 about a comeback, although he is yet to be seen in any fight.
I have decided to return to professional fighting. This short retirement reinvigorated my passion to compete. I’m now faster and stronger than I have ever been. That yearning to walk into the octagon is something that I just can’t live without. #MMA #UFC #ROOSTER #comeback #title pic.twitter.com/T02W4fuB2B
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) April 1, 2019
He Has A Beautiful Family With Ginger Kennedy
Being married to a military man is not an easy task to pull off but for someone like Ginger Kennedy who has been married to Tim Kennedy for a long time now, the role has been quite interesting. Ginger has not only been the wife of Tim but also his supporter as she has been by his side through his career pursuits in areas that many consider risky.
However, when it comes to the details about their love life, these two have kept it from the public. No information is available about their dating timeline and when they finally tied the knot. More so, Ginger has been frugal with information pertaining to her life and the only known deets about her life is the fact that she is married to Tim Kennedy. In the midst of all this though, one can still attest to the fact that Tim is a doting father to his 2 daughters and son.
According to a post he made on Instagram, he might be fearless in all his pursuits but his greatest fear is to fail his family. As a father, it is only natural to put the needs of your kids first and that is a duty he owes his kids for the rest of his life.
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