MMA fighter Jeremy Kennedy won his Bellator organization debut Thursday (Nov. 19) in a unanimous decision over American Matt Bessett.
The featherweight fight was held at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, in a preliminary-card battle.
Kennedy, a former UFC fighter who grew up in the Fleetwood area of Surrey and now lives in 91原创, improved his pro MMA record to 16 wins, two losses and one no contest.
The fight was shown on the BellatorMMA YouTube channel, which boasts more than a million subscribers. Bellator 253鈥檚 main card saw A.J McKee defeat Darrion Caldwell at 1:11 of the first round, via neck-crank submission.
After the three rounds of his win, a beaming Kennedy was draped with the Canadian flag, and he later talked about the whole experience during a 13-minute press conference posted to YouTube.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrPvIVyXsFQ
鍗� 鍗� 鍗� |
鈥� Jeremy Kennedy (@JeremyKennedyWC)
We just getting started! Very excited for this new chapter. Thank you for the opportunity @ Uncasville, Connecticut
鈥淲e just getting started! Very excited for this new chapter,鈥� Kennedy later tweeted, with a graphic showing the 16 fights he鈥檚 won. The notches are tattooed on his left rib cage.
Prior to Thursday, Kennedy was itching to get back into the MMA ring with the California-based Bellator, the UFC rival promotion that signed him to its growing roster. He hadn鈥檛 fought since last October, due to scheduling snafus made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 28-year-old featherweight trains at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.
It鈥檚 been a 鈥渃razy鈥� 2020 for Kennedy, who flew back to Canada in mid-March when the pandemic hit.
He remained in 91原创 until a couple of weeks after his mid-August marriage to Haley, with whom he shares a townhouse and the company of two dogs. She helps run the family鈥檚 Oxygen Yoga & Fitness studio in Walnut Grove.
鈥淪he鈥檚 been super supportive about my going back and forth (between 91原创 and Las Vegas), and now it鈥檚 just getting tougher because of the quarantine,鈥� Kennedy said during a mid-October interview.
Kennedy is now set to return to 91原创 to be reunited with his wife and dogs, and is aiming to fight again in the new year.
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