Wednesday night at UFC fight Night 31 will probably remain one of the best moment’s of UFC Middleweight Tim Kennedy’s career for a long time. He walked up to the Octagon with the full support of the all-military crowd. They shouted and cheered for him as he found his rhythm against Rafael Natal. Then erupted when he landed the devastating left hand that dropped Natal for the first round KO.
Despite the impressive victory, Kennedy made it clear during the post-fight press conference that he knows his place in the division:
“I’m only two fights into the UFC. I’m not going to call out guys that are (top contenders),” Kennedy said. “I think I’m middle of the pack, honestly. There’s a whole bunch of guys that are on bigger, more substantial, more meaningful winning streaks than I am right now.
“I want to fight the best guys.”
Kennedy continued making it clear that, although he wouldn’t mind rematching former Strikeforce foes, he’d rather fight “UFC guys”. It didn’t take him long to decide who he wants next when he called out Michael Bisping on Twitter Thursday afternoon:
@TimKennedyMMA don’t start acting hard because you kod some random Brazilian. News flash, NO ONE GIVES A F#%K. If u want it. April, let’s go
— michael (@bisping) November 8, 2013
@TimKennedyMMa well it’s simple. Call the UFC and say u wanna fight me in April. Put your money where your mouth is big shot.
— michael (@bisping) November 8, 2013
Obviously, Bisping accepted the challenge, but as he said, it will be a while before he’s able fight. Bisping was supposed to fight Mark Munoz at UFC Fight Night 30 in October. Unfortunately, he was pulled from the bout and had to undergo eye surgery. The doctors told him he would be out for up to six months following the surgery.
With Bisping 1-1 in 2013, he’s definitely not any closer to the title than Kennedy with his two wins. The match would be a big step up for Kennedy with Bisping currently ranked fourth in the division.
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