Tim Kennedy

Fight of the Day: Kennedy vs. Rivera

From the International Fight League’s World Grand Prix Finals event in December 2007, here’s Army veteran Tim Kennedy, who will be in action against undefeated prospect Zac Cummings at this weekend’s Strikeforce Challengers show, facing Elias Rivera.

Villasenor Edges Santos at “Challengers”

VILLASENOR DECISIONS CYBORG IN MAIN EVENT; GURGEL AND HEUN PROVIDE CROWD-PLEASING FIREWORKS; KENNEDY AND KAUFMAN EACH SCORE VICTORIES
KENT, Wash. – “Smokin” Joe Villasenor showed no signs of rust after a year away from the cage as he recorded a close split decision over Evangelista “Cyborg” in the main event of the sophomore edition of Strikeforce Challengers Friday night on Showtime before an enthusiastic crowd at the ShoWare Center.
In a gritty and tactical battle all the way to the end, Villasenor proved victorious winning on two of the three judges scorecards, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. “I haven’t fought in over a year and that’s a great fight to come back to,” Villasenor said afterwards. “A three-round war. I was really surprised by (Cyborg’s) countering. It turned into a great fight.”

Continue reading "Villasenor Edges Santos at “Challengers”"

Previewing Strikeforce Challengers: The Main Card

Strikeforce continues to move forward and will hold its second-ever “Challengers” event tonight on Showtime from the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington with a decidedly different look compared to their inaugural event back in May.

While a slew of skilled prospects will still be featured, tonight’s show will sport an unusual number of fighters that are often seen on the main cards of Strikeforce’s bigger events. The fact that both Dennis Hallman and Duane Ludwig have been relegated to preliminary bouts shows the sheer amount of notable talent on display.

The event will be headlined by a sure-fire middleweight slugfest between Brazilian striker Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos and Greg Jackson-trained Joey Villasenor. Additional bouts slated for the televised main card include a middleweight clash between former BodogFight welterweight champion Nick Thompson and Army veteran Tim Kennedy as well as a lightweight bout involving Jorge Gurgel and Conor Heun.

Continue reading "Previewing Strikeforce Challengers: The Main Card"

McGivern Likely to Replace Kennedy in Feb

Tim Kennedy will reportedly bow out of his scheduled International Fight League middleweight title bout against current champion Matt Horwich and will likely be replaced by Miletich Fighting Systems middleweight Ryan McGivern.

The fight is slated to happen at the IFL’s “New Blood New Battles” event on February 29th, which will take place at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

The news comes from Five Ounces of Pain, who also report that the IFL is expected to make a formal announcement concerning the change at some point this week.

McGivern fought and defeated Horwich by unanimous decision at the IFL Championship Finals in December 2006. While an official reason as to why Kennedy will be unable to compete at the event, it is speculated that he is tied in to a military commitment.

Three Title Fights Headline IFL in Vegas

NEW YORK - IFL titleholders Matt Horwich, Roy Nelson and Ryan Schultz will defend their belts when the International Fight League opens its 2008 schedule with an eight-bout card at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Friday, February 29.

In addition to the three Championship bouts, team competition will feature Matt Lindland’‘s Team Quest vs. Ken Shamrock’‘s Lions Den and Team Xtreme Couture vs. Mario Sperry’‘s MMA Top Team.

Horwich, who claimed the middleweight title with a victory over Benji Radach at the IFL World Grand Prix on December 29, will defend his crown against Tim Kennedy who won all three of his IFL matchups in 2007 with first or second-round finishes.

Nelson, who knocked out Antoine Jaoude to win the heavyweight crown, will take on IFL newcomer Fabiano Scherner, who trains with Lindland at Team Quest. Schultz, whose lightweight victory over Chris Horodecki raised eyebrows in the entire MMA community, makes the first defense of his lightweight belt against John Gunderson, who competes for the Lions Den.

““This card is a good example of how the flexibility of our new format makes for great matchups,” said IFL Commissioner Kurt Otto. “Fans will get to see three Championship bouts, plus some exciting team competition feeding some of our upcoming title fights.””

Continue reading "Three Title Fights Headline IFL in Vegas"

Schultz Stops Horodecki in Night of Upsets

UNCASVILLE - Ryan ““The Lion” Schultz” knocked out previously undefeated 20-year-old Chris ““The Polish Hammer"” Horodecki, capping off an exciting night of action with Schultz winning the lightweight championship at the inaugural International Fight League World Grand Prix finals, held tonight in front of 5,731 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Four other championship fights also took place, including victories by Roy ““Big Country” Nelson at heavyweight, Wagnney Fabiano at featherweight, Jay Hieron at welterweight, and Matt Horwich at middleweight.

The five championships were the most ever contested on one night in North American MMA history.

Schultz took control early in the first round and continued to pound Horodecki before the referee stepped in late in the round to stop the bout. Schultz had been named a late replacement in the title bout after injuries to Horodecki’‘s previous two opponents.

Continue reading "Schultz Stops Horodecki in Night of Upsets"

IFL Grand Prix Finals Live Results

We will be going live at 7:30 PM EST with live results of the IFL World Grand Prix Finals which are taking place this evening at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.

The event features three preliminary bouts and five title fights including a rematch between Ryan Schultz and lightweight phenom Chris Horodecki for the IFL Lightweight Title.

Be sure to leave comments throughout the night.

Live results are shown after the jump.

Continue reading "IFL Grand Prix Finals Live Results"

IFL Grand Prix Finals Weigh-In Results

Photos courtesy of the IFL.

The official weigh-in results for tomorrow night’s IFL Grand Prix Finals are below. All fighters successfully made weight.

Title Bouts:

Chris Horodecki (153 lbs) vs. Ryan Schultz (153 lbs)
Benji Radach (184 lbs) vs Matt Horwich (183 lbs)
Jay Hieron (168 lbs) vs. Delson Heleno (168 lbs)
Roy Nelson (258 lbs) vs. Antoine Jaoude (253 lbs)
L.C. Davis (143 lbs) vs. Wagnney Fabiano (144 lbs)

Preliminary Bouts:

Marcello Salazar (180 lbs) vs. Alex Cook (180 lbs)
Brett Cooper (169 lbs) vs. Rory Markham (170 lbs)
Elias Rivera (181 lbs) vs. Tim Kennedy (186 lbs)

Miller, Trigg Win; Ensure Potential Rematch

Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Frank Trigg were both victorious last night in their respective bouts, setting up a potential rematch of their ICON Sport middleweight title bout that took place just one year ago.

The 6,754 that packed into the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas saw a main event between Miller and Tim Kennedy live up to expectations as a very competitive bout. Kennedy came away with the first round on the scorecards, using superior striking and wrestling to keep Miller at bay. Kennedy came close to ending the fight when he secured Miller’s back and had an extended amount of time to try and sink in a rear naked choke. The opportunity was foiled when the horn sounded to end the round.

Both fighters came out of the gate firing away with punches and kicks to start the second. Kennedy (8-2) once again took control of Miller (20-5) from behind but Miller was able to reverse the position and put Kennedy on his back. Miller fired away with punches and elbows that opened up a nasty cut on the bridge of Kennedy’s nose. “Mayhem” started to pull away in the final stanza after securing an early takedown.

Kennedy’s cut was checked by ringside doctors on two different occasions but the bout was permitted to continue both times. The fight was restarted on the feet by the referee after the second check of the cut and gave Kennedy the opportunity to take Miller down. However Kennedy was unable to generate much offense because of multiple submission attempts by Miller. Miller rolled Kennedy to his back and pounded away on his opponent until the end of the fight. The judges convened and their scorecards all matched up as Miller was awarded a well-earned unanimous decision, finally avenging a loss to Kennedy earlier in his career.

When asked who he would like to take on in his next fight, Miller hysterically stated that he wouldn’t mind fighting HDNet Fights owner and famed billionaire Mark Cuban for each other’s wallets. While Cuban won’t be standing across the cage against Miller in his next fight, Trigg most likely will be.

Continue reading "Miller, Trigg Win; Ensure Potential Rematch"

HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon Results

Marcus Lanier def. Lee King - Submission (Armbar)
Liam McCarty def. Jason House - TKO (Cut)
Jay White def. Patrick Castillo - Submission (Armbar)
Nissen Osterneck def. Freddie Espiricueta - Submission (Strikes)
Corey Mahon def. Chris Bowles - Submision (Armbar)
Pete Spratt def. Tristan Yunker - TKO (Cut)
Krzysztof Soszynski def. Robert Villegas - Disqualification
Yves Edwards def. Alonzo Martinez - Submission (RNC)
Frank Trigg def. Edwin Dewees - Submission (Kimura)
Jason Miller def. Tim Kennedy- Unanimous Decision