Surrey-raised Jeremy Kennedy keeps winning and rising up the MMA rankings with the Bellator promotion.
On Saturday (Feb. 25), the featherweight fighter was in Dublin, Ireland, where he took down the home-town favourite Pedro Carvalho at the Bellator 291 event and moved a step closer to a title shot.
Kennedy, now 19-3 (wins, losses), used his grappling to control Carvalho on the ground for three rounds.
It was a unanimous decision for Kennedy, 30, who went in ranked third, two lower than the #3 Carvalho.
鈽狅笍 wants NEXT!
鈥� Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA)
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Featherweight title shot next? 馃憖 gave his thoughts following his massive win against Pedro Carvalho at ! 馃敟
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Both Kennedy and Carvalho saw the bout as a title eliminator, with the No. 1 contender ranking on the line and champion Patricio 鈥淧itbull鈥� Freire of Brazil waiting in the wings.
鈥淚 believe I鈥檝e been the number one (contender) the whole time, and I think this just proves it,鈥� Kennedy said after the fight.
The man nicknamed 鈥淛BC鈥� said he got the job done in Dublin despite feeling poorly ahead of the fight.
鈥淓ven on my worst day, I can 30-27 these guys,鈥� Kennedy said, referring to the three judges鈥� scores. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 the statement I鈥檓 making here.鈥�
Kennedy, who grew up in the Fleetwood area of Surrey and now now lives in Las Vegas, called out the champion.
鈥淧itbull. That鈥檚 the only fight. That鈥檚 the fight right now, that title fight.鈥�
鈥� RELATED: .
Kennedy has become one of Bellator鈥檚 highest touted competitors with his tenacious wrestling and relentless pressure.
In his last bout in October, he was up against higher-ranked featherweight Aaron Pico at at Long Beach Arena in California, Pico鈥檚 home state. In a back-and-forth first round, Pico dislocated his shoulder, resulting in a TKO victory for Kennedy.
Kennedy has won four of his first five outings under the Bellator banner. The fights he鈥檚 won (in Bellator, UFC and other promos) are tattooed as notches on his left rib cage.
with file from The Canadian Press
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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