What’s the story?
Active United States Army National Guard special forces operator and professional mixed martial artist Tim Kennedy (18-6) announced his retirement from the sport via a facebook post, ending a career spanning over a decade, across promotions including the UFC.
Kennedy speaking post his announcement with MMAfighting.com has vowed to continue fighting for fighters rights through the MMAAA, despite immediate plans of stepping away from the octagon.
In case you didn’t know
Kennedy’s last bout in the octagon was against the talented Kelvin Gastelum, in which he was beaten by the Middleweight contender, who is set to face Vitor Belfort at Fight Night 106, in Fortaleza, Brazil. Kennedy, in the same interview with MMAfighting.com, claims he planned on retiring from the sport after his scheduled fight with Rashad Evans at UFC 200 had taken place. Although Evans was pulled from the fight, ruining Kennedy's send off plans forcing him to extend his career.
Heart of the matter
When asked about his plans post-retirement, Kennedy tells MMAfighting he is going to continue fighting on various issues, one of which being, for fighters rights through the MMAAA.
“Yeah, this is not a slow-moving thing. This is not a lawsuit that is going to take years. You’re going to see announcements every month. You’re going to see who’s part of this outspokenly, who are athletes on the roster that have already joined. You’re going to see content about why this is important coming out. And if you saw me fight, and you saw how I fought in the cage, this is something that I think is much more important than my performance, and I’ll fight much more fiercely.”
What’s next?
As the special forces operator has chosen to leave the UFC, he shifts his focus, mind and body towards his other interests. Heavily involved with the fighters rights movement Kennedy's role in the sport is far from over, despite him retiring. However, he will not compete in the octagon again.
Sportskeeda’s take
As fans have witnessed the last of a great fighter, many in the MMA world have lauded the move as a smart decision by Kennedy, with claims that his body was slowing down. As he shifts focus to fights outside the cage, what’s definitely not next for Kennedy is slowing down, as he continues his fight in other ventures.
