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UFC middleweight Tim Kennedy announces retirement from MMA
Tim Kennedy, the former Army Ranger who for several years was among the elite mixed martial artists in the world, announced his retirement as an active fighter Tuesday.
In a post on Facebook, Kennedy cited his age as a factor. He was stopped by Kelvin Gastelum in December at UFC 206 in Toronto in what proved to be his final bout. He ends his career 18-6 overall and 3-2 in the UFC. His UFC highlight was a win over Michael Bisping, the current UFC middleweight champion. He lost two middleweight title bouts, to Jacare Souza and Luke Rockhold, while he was fighting in the now-defunct Strikeforce promotion.
I appreciated their comments and I don’t think they are wrong. I know I am still a good fighter. I know I was away a while. But they didn’t feel what I felt, and that’s being 37. I felt like I was in slow motion the entire match. I felt tired for the first time ever in a fight. I’m the guy that once graduated Ranger School – a place that starves you and denies you sleep for over two months – and took a fight six days later in the IFL and won. I’m the guy that is always in shape. And I was for this fight. I worked harder than I ever have before for this fight. But I wasn’t me anymore. My brain knew what to do but my body did not respond. I’ve watched other fighters arrive here. I’ve watched other fighters pretend they weren’t here. I will not be one of them.
Though the win over Bisping, who knocked out Rockhold at UFC 199, would seem to be the highlight of his career, Kennedy saw it differently. He pointed to a first-round knockout victory over Rafael Natal on Nov. 6, 2013, at Fight for the Troops, as the defining moment of his career.
The arena was filled with his fellow soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky., and Kennedy drew great inspiration from competing in front of his peers, he wrote.
I want to thank the military community for their support. I’ll never be able to explain how much you motivated me and how much I always tried to make you proud. I’ve been a professional fighter for two decades, but there was no greater moment for me than winning the main event of Fight for the Troops 3. You made me invincible that night. I will keep fighting for you all until the day I die.
The loss to Gastelum crystalized in Kennedy’s mind that he’d come to the end. He hadn’t fought in more than two years and said after the fight, many of his coaches, friends and teammates consoled him by making various excuses for the outcome.
But Kennedy said Gastelum reminded him of another fighter he knew well.
I had just lost to Kelvin Gastelum, a really respectful and hard-working young fighter who went out and did all the things I consider myself good at, but did them better. He actually reminded me of me when I was younger, except I was kind of a jerk back then. As losses go, I was kind of happy I lost to a guy like him.
He was an outspoken advocate for fighter rights and was one of the fighters who participated in the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association’s inaugural news conference in December. And he intimated in his post that he will continue working on their behalf.
He was a colorful, interesting character and his presence will be missed on the MMA scene.
