UFC Fight Night: Bisping Vs Kennedy (April 16, 2014)

[THE_LOCKSMITH]

FOX Sports 1, 7 p.m. ET
Michael Bisping vs. Tim Kennedy
Patrick Cote vs. Kyle Noke
Elias Theodorou vs. Sheldon Westcott
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Chad Laprise
Akira Corassani vs. Dustin Poirier

FOX Sports 1, 5 p.m. ET
K.J. Noons vs. Sam Stout
Sarah Kaufman vs. Leslie Smith
Ryan Jimmo vs. Sean O’Connell
Dustin Kimura vs. George Roop

UFC Fight Pass, 3 p.m. ET
Mark Bocek vs. Mike De La Torre
Vik Grujic vs. Nordine Taleb
Chris Indich vs. Richard Walsh
Mitch Gagnon vs. Tim Gorman

[Vaughany]

<header id="cb-standard-featured" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(89, 88, 88); font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">UFC’s Michael Bisping: Tim Kennedy Is ‘An Embarrassment to Himself, the Armed Forces and the UFC’

Zach Miller
<time class="updated" datetime="2014-04-08" style="box-sizing: border-box;">April 8, 2014</time>
Interviews, Spotlight, TUF: Nations
15 Comments


</header><section class="entry-content clearfix" itemprop="articleBody" style="box-sizing: border-box; zoom: 1; margin: 0px 0px 30px; color: rgb(89, 88, 88); font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">If there were a MMA bucket list, some of the items on there would be pretty obvious: attend a live UFC event, watch the awesomeness that is Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s slam that made Ricardo Arona go night-nights, the Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar TUF finale—you know, stuff like that.
Another one that should be up there is engaging in a conversation with UFC middleweight Michael Bisping. Granted, this task is a little harder than going on YouTube, but the effort will be well worth it. After Bisping’s career is long over, for whatever accomplishments the Brit has achieved and will achieve, one of his accolades will always be his amazing outspokenness.

Bisping (Aline Bak/The MMA Corner)

To put it simply, the dude can talk some serious smack. To hear him via the internet or television is one thing, but to actually hear him in person is something else. The man can come up with responses quicker than he pumps a jab, and somehow he manages to take whatever the subject is and relate it to how much his opponent sucks. In this instance, that opponent is Tim Kennedy.
During this particular conversation, Bisping was out for a stroll in the park with his kids and dog.
“Sorry about that. We had a slight dog issue. One dog’s chasing after my dog,” said Bisping. “Some dog off the leash was about to get his head chewed off by my dog. My dog’s big, a German Shepherd. This thing looked like a little snack. That’s how Tim Kennedy’s looking to me as well. Tim Kennedy’s looking like a little snack, and I’ve been pretty hungry.”
Writing cannot really do the man justice. But really, anything could have been happening and Bisping would have come up with some reason why he hates Tim Kennedy. Imagine if the conversation had happened while Bisping was painting his house. He’d probably suggest that Kennedy is as boring as watching paint dry. Can’t you just hear it in his English accent?
Still, at the end of the day, this is a fight, and all this talk means nothing if Bisping doesn’t win. Mr. Bisping’s tongue certainly hasn’t lost a step, but when he meets Kennedy on April 16, it will be almost a year since Bisping last set foot inside the Octagon. The Brit suffered from a detached retina in September while training for a bout against Mark Munoz.
“Physically, mentally, I’m feeling 100 percent,” Bisping told The MMA Corner. “I’ve been in the UFC now for nine years, and this is what I love to do. This is how I pay my bills. I’ve been out now for a little while with the eye, but everything’s good, and it feels good to be back. I can’t wait to get in there and do what I do best.”
Bisping went on to explain that even with the long layoff, he believes he can go five rounds if necessary. His weight is right on schedule for the 185-pound bout, too. For this camp, however, there were some major adjustments that he made, mainly with sparring.
“Obviously, I’ve learned some lessons,” Bisping admitted. “So, when I spar now, I always wear my headgear. When we spar with the little gloves—with the MMA sparring gloves—we just kind of tone it down a bit.”
Bisping confessed that he thought sparring without taking the proper precautions is what led to the eye injury that has kept him away from competition for almost a year.
“In the past, the sparring used to get a little bit out of control, and people used to get injured,” Bisping revealed. “You learn some lessons the hard way, unfortunately.”
Another thing he has had to learn the hard way is to take advantage of opportunities. The Englishman, for all his accomplishments, has come up short when it means the most. He has lost three title eliminator bouts, against Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort.
“I think when I beat Tim Kennedy that puts me right in line for a title show, because who else is there?” said Bisping. “I’ve been a perennial contender for the last five years. I want the winner of [Chris] Weidman and [Lyoto] Machida.”

Bisping (James Law/Heavy MMA)

Although Bisping foresees a title shot in his future, it’s obvious he’s going to enjoy hitting his opponent more than usual. Kennedy has riled Bisping to a level MMA fans haven’t seen in quite a long time.
“I mean, the level of competition I’ve faced—Tim Kennedy’s probably at the bottom of the pecking order,” said Bisping. “I watch the interviews with him, and he has this little arrogant feeling of self-worth, and I just don’t understand where it comes from. He hasn’t beaten anybody decent. He hasn’t been around long enough. He’s only been around two minutes.”
“He’s just a dork,” continued Bisping. “He’s just a wannabe. He tries to make these videos that aren’t funny. He’s an embarrassment to himself, the Armed Forces and to the UFC.”
Is this rant real? Is there really that much hate towards Kennedy? The fact that Bisping continued to get angrier the more he mentioned his opponent’s name serves as a good indicator.
“The sooner I can get up to Canada, kick his ass and never have to be linked to that guy again, that makes me a happy man,” said a fired-up Bisping. “I’m sick of being lumped in the same sentence as Tim Kennedy. I really am. I detest the guy. I don’t like him. The sooner I kick the penetrating living shit out of him and I can be done with it, I’ll be a happy man.”
In terms of predictions, you can probably guess what Bisping thinks the outcome will be.
“I’m going to stop him, make no mistake. This is what I’m going to do: I’m going to beat the shit out of him for a good few minutes, for a good few rounds, and then I’m going to leave him on the floor in a pile of his own piss and blood when the referee drags me off him. Then, I’ll never mention Tim Kennedy’s name ever again.”
It’s good to have Michael Bisping back, indeed.
</section>

[Vaughany]

Jones... "I look at myself as an alpha-male"!!! friggin defacto is Jon Jones!

[THE_LOCKSMITH]

Vaughany are you fading your countryman ?

[marzwoody]

Jones... "I look at myself as an alpha-male"!!! friggin defacto is Jon Jones!

You actually betting on kennedy? bisping is gonna destroy him.

[Vaughany]

Vaughany are you fading your countryman ?

May have a filkins on Kennedy By tko/ko for shits and giggles! At +650 or sumin on sportbet i see

[marzwoody]

Kennedy's out of his league, a motivated bisping will outstrike and brutalize him till the bell.

[Vaughany]

You actually betting on kennedy? bisping is gonna destroy him.

He might actually have a style/skills set that can make this very closer than the lines suggest...

- Wont be easy to take down, he is very strong and has tree chunk legs...very solid base despite not being a natural wrestler. Also has the cardio to go at it for more than a couple rounds unlike many of bispings previous opponents...belcher, rivera, mayhem, leben, sexyama

- Has enough power to drop bisping, bisping could fight recklessly cos he thinks kennedy is a chump and cos of the whole mocking him thing, we all know tht bisping is very hittable despite being one of the few Mixed martial artists that dont just stand planted on the spot. I can see bisping landing a legkick and kennedy just walking through it and countering with a big looping overhand right or hook

- Bisping isnt young anymore and keeps getting injured, have to wonder if the time has come where we are going to start seeing him looking a bit more fragile and a suddend decline. Also compare their camps, bisping isnt working with a whole bunch of elite guys unlike kennedy who is always improving working with jones, browne, khabilov, condit , swanson, etc... at jacksons. Bisping has alienated himself from so many fighters due to his "beefs" that i cant imagine him having tht many elite guys to work with in Huntington beach. I believe Lorenz Larkin trains with him now and again

[marzwoody]

He might actually have a style/skills set that can make this very closer than the lines suggest...

- Wont be easy to take down, he is very strong and has tree chunk legs...very solid base despite not being a natural wrestler. Also has the cardio to go at it for more than a couple rounds unlike many of bispings previous opponents...belcher, rivera, mayhem, leben, sexyama

- Has enough power to drop bisping, bisping could fight recklessly cos he thinks kennedy is a chump and cos of the whole mocking him thing, we all know tht bisping is very hittable despite being one of the few Mixed martial artists that dont just stand planted on the spot. I can see bisping landing a legkick and kennedy just walking through it and countering with a big looping overhand right or hook

- Bisping isnt young anymore and keeps getting injured, have to wonder if the time has come where we are going to start seeing him looking a bit more fragile and a suddend decline. Also compare their camps, bisping isnt working with a whole bunch of elite guys unlike kennedy who is always improving working with jones, browne, khabilov, condit , swanson, etc... at jacksons. Bisping has alienated himself from so many fighters due to his "beefs" that i cant imagine him having tht many elite guys to work with in Huntington beach. I believe Lorenz Larkin trains with him now and again

Good analysis, but bisping will never want to take him down. hes very technical good striker he will outpoint him to a decision. of course anything can happen, but im sure bisping has this, as long as he sticks to gameplan and doesn't do anything stupid like drop his hands.

[Vaughany]

Good analysis, but bisping will never want to take him down. hes very technical good striker he will outpoint him to a decision. of course anything can happen, but im sure bisping has this, as long as he sticks to gameplan and doesn't do anything stupid like drop his hands.

Yes, im sure kennedy will probably be the one looking to grab a hold of bisping and get him against the cage and dirty box, grind away etc... Like he always does. Jus saying that compared to guys like mayhem and rivera who Bisping did take down it wont be anywhere near as easy with kennedy should he wish to do it. Like in the rivera fight i recall rivera landing a straight right or something which bisping didnt like and slightly hurt him so he immediately took it to the ground with a rather telegraphed trip takedown which he could get away with against rivera because rivera was so slow and stiff.

It could well look like the belcher fight tho with kennedy just getting picked apart, but kennedy is a lot more active and always on the front foot looking to apply pressure, unlike a belcher who overthinks things and after his win against palhares started thinking he was some sort of mixed martial arts genius who could just stand there and win fights without actually doing anything!

[marzwoody]

Is the fight 5 rounds or 3??

[Vaughany]

5 i assume as main event

[marzwoody]

5 i assume as main event

If its five that's worse for bisping could get sloppy after 3 then get caught but still unlikely

[Thor4140]

i don't think Bisping has the power to stop Kennedy. The problem with Bisping is his chin and u panic every time ya take him because one punch can end it. Only guys who have hands as good as the Counts give him trouble. Kenndy doesn't have those hands. I think this could become a war of attrition come round four or five. Bisping may be the most underrated fighter in the UFC the problem is guys who can take his punches start walking thru them and get more ballsy. If this were a three rounder i would take Bisping. A five is a bit risky to me. They should still be around at least till the 4th rounds. A fighter like Leben or Belcher are taylor made for MIke. Guys who think they can throw but technically are way overmatched and get jabbed to death by a better boxer.

[marzwoody]

i don't think Bisping has the power to stop Kennedy. The problem with Bisping is his chin and u panic every time ya take him because one punch can end it. Only guys who have hands as good as the Counts give him trouble. Kenndy doesn't have those hands. I think this could become a war of attrition come round four or five. Bisping may be the most underrated fighter in the UFC the problem is guys who can take his punches start walking thru them and get more ballsy. If this were a three rounder i would take Bisping. A five is a bit risky to me. They should still be around at least till the 4th rounds. A fighter like Leben or Belcher are taylor made for MIke. Guys who think they can throw but technically are way overmatched and get jabbed to death by a better boxer.

Yea people have been talking shit about his chin since hendo.. and he hasn't been knocked out since. think its time people let that go. brian stann was a hard hitter, bisping dominated him.

[Thor4140]

Yea people have been talking shit about his chin since hendo.. and he hasn't been knocked out since. think its time people let that go. brian stann was a hard hitter, bisping dominated him.

He is caggy and nobody really hits him. When he does he falls. I think Vitor also knocked him out with one shot. I have seen him staggered a few times by punches that didn't seem to be that bad. Why my throat has knotts when i bet the guy. Just cause u are English doesn't mean u have to have blind loyalty.

[marzwoody]

He is caggy and nobody really hits him. When he does he falls. I think Vitor also knocked him out with one shot. I have seen him staggered a few times by punches that didn't seem to be that bad. Why my throat has knotts when i bet the guy. Just cause u are English doesn't mean u have to have blind loyalty.

I have no national pride. i like bisping because hes a good fighter, i think hes actually the only English fighter i do like besides ross pearson. TRT vitor has been knocking everyone out my friend, i'm not the only one who doesn't see tim kennedy knocking bisping out, mr tinfoil hat,

[Vaughany]

I have no national pride. i like bisping because hes a good fighter, i think hes actually the only English fighter i do like besides ross pearson. TRT vitor has been knocking everyone out my friend, i'm not the only one who doesn't see tim kennedy knocking bisping out, mr tinfoil hat,

How can u not like the Gentleman John Hathaway?!

[Dwil125]

If its five that's worse for bisping could get sloppy after 3 then get caught but still unlikely

Better for Bisping. Bisping should have no problems with Conditioning.

[MD]

Better for Bisping. Bisping should have no problems with Conditioning.

Dunno why this is such a big myth, Bisping has slowed down on more than one occasion, and that was in three round fights. Five rounder heavily favours Kennedy, I think.

[Ron_Paul_2012]

Dunno why this is such a big myth, Bisping has slowed down on more than one occasion, and that was in three round fights. Five rounder heavily favours Kennedy, I think.

You may be correct. Bisping is getting old. I can't help but wonder if this fight is going to be similar to Bisping vs Hamill. Bisping is coming off a long lay off from a very serious injury & Kennedy is hungry. Can't wait for this fight!

[Dwil125]

Bisping is only a year older. Which occasion are you talking about? The last one I remember is him slowing down vs Wanderlei in 2010. I remember Kennedy slowing down against Robbie Lawler in Strikeforce. I was watching that fight live and that's what it looked like

[MD]

Bisping is only a year older. Which occasion are you talking about? The last one I remember is him slowing down vs Wanderlei in 2010. I remember Kennedy slowing down against Robbie Lawler in Strikeforce. I was watching that fight live and that's what it looked like

Looked horribly gassed vs Sonnen in R3, he's only really good at pacing himself and controlling his gastank when he's dictating the pace. When things aren't completely in his favour, he's not as aware of his cardio, and I think it's a big weakness of his. He's a serious front runner.

[Skel]

Bisping is only a year older. Which occasion are you talking about? The last one I remember is him slowing down vs Wanderlei in 2010. I remember Kennedy slowing down against Robbie Lawler in Strikeforce. I was watching that fight live and that's what it looked like

I don't remember Kennedy slowing down much in his 5 round fights against Jacare and Rockhold. I assume both guys here will have respectable conditioning.

[Dwil125]

Looked horribly gassed vs Sonnen in R3, he's only really good at pacing himself and controlling his gastank when he's dictating the pace. When things aren't completely in his favour, he's not as aware of his cardio, and I think it's a big weakness of his. He's a serious front runner.

I watched Bisping vs Sonnen in person too. Maybe I should rewatch then. Sonnen looked gassed there and bisping took him down with short time.

[Skel]

Looked horribly gassed vs Sonnen in R3, he's only really good at pacing himself and controlling his gastank when he's dictating the pace. When things aren't completely in his favour, he's not as aware of his cardio, and I think it's a big weakness of his. He's a serious front runner.

Sonnen looked gassed in that fight as well.

[judochop87]

I like Kaufman Poirer and Stout/Noons over2.5 here, waiting on the lines.

[MD]

Sonnen looked gassed in that fight as well.

He did, which makes the fact that he completely dominated Bisping in R3 even more relevant.

[JIBBBY]

So this is the next UFC event.......Alllllllllrighty then..

Gonna take a stab at this main event for starters -..

Michael Bisbing should pick apart Tim Kennedy over time with his striking as I do see this fight standing up for most of the time..... Tim Kennedy just doesn't have the tools to beat a Michael Bisbing in a boxing or MT match..

Tim Kennedy is a stiffer fighter with a heavier muscular build and he simply is not as light on his feet or as fluent as Bisping when I think of these 2 standing and striking.. I'm pretty sure Kennedy won't out grapple Bisping either if the fight does hit the canvass....

In simple terms - Everything Tim Kennedy is good at I think Michael Bisbing is just a little bit better.. As much as I like Tim Kennedy I can't see him winning this fight in any area... Probably goes to a decision win for Bisping just because Tim Kennedy is a tough durable SOB...

http://www.ufc.com/event/ufc-fight-night-quebec-city?f1=Michael-Bisping&f2=Tim-Kennedy

[Skel]

Patrick Cote, Elias Theodorou and Richard Walsh all trained for their fights at Tiger Muay Thai.

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RwWZmRHLlPA" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

[Beelzebubzy]

Bisping gassed badly versus Mayhem in what was a grapple heavy round 1

[Skel]

Lines are out for the entire card. Poirier opened at -505, which I think will approach -1000 by fight time. Westcott opened at +190, which I expect to totally flip around to -170 or so. Olivier opened as a slight dog and should shift to a moderate favorite.

[Wilbo86]

Poirier the lockiest of locks? Thoughts? I was considering throwing a bazillion units on him

[Wilbo86]

Lines are out for the entire card. Poirier opened at -505, which I think will approach -1000 by fight time. Westcott opened at +190, which I expect to totally flip around to -170 or so. Olivier opened as a slight dog and should shift to a moderate favorite.

I don't usually go after heavy favorites, but I'd be very happy with -505. I'll be hitting him hard at opening.

[Beelzebubzy]

one of De La Torre's recent wins.

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Jordan-Delano-113689

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