Timothy Fred Kennedy (born September 1, 1979) is an American soldier and retired mixed martial artist.
A professional from 2001 until 2016, he has fought in the UFC, Strikeforce, the WEC, ShoMMA, HDNet Fights, and represented the Chicago Red Bears in the IFL.
To offset her influence on him, Kennedy's father enrolled Tim and his brother in boxing lessons, wrestling teams, and Japanese ju-jitsu classes.
Kennedy was featured in Dick Couch's book about Green Beret selection called Chosen Soldier under the moniker "Tom Kendall".
[11] During those operations he experienced, what he described as "Worst day of his life",[12] when he fought in "3 day AID initiated ambush gunfight" with 601st Czech Special Forces Group, where "few hundred foreign and Taliban soldiers" were positioned "with intention of capturing entire Czech Special Forces, including escorting ODA Group" he said, when he touched the topic on 100th episode of Shawn Ryan Show.
In August 2009, Kennedy transitioned from active duty to the Texas Army National Guard, joined 19th Special Forces Group and served in the position of Special Forces Weapons Sergeant, and has continued to serve with the Texas Army National Guard since then.
On April 16, 2017, Kennedy announced his reenlistment into the U.S. Army Special Forces, praising the leadership of Secretary of Defense James Mattis and National Security Adviser H.R.
[13] Kennedy began training at Dokan School of Martial Arts in Atascadero, California under Terry Kelly and Barry Smith.
In 1999, Kennedy began training with Chuck Liddell, Jake Shields, Gan McGee, and John Hackleman at The Pit in San Luis Obispo, and made his debut in 2001.
[15][16][17] Kennedy returned to mixed martial arts in 2009 with a win over Nick Thompson at Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg in Kent, Washington.
[20] However, the event was cancelled due to injuries to headliner Frank Mir, as well to co-headliner and middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.
[28] For his third fight with the promotion, Kennedy faced Michael Bisping on April 16, 2014, at The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale.
Yoel Romero, his cornermen, the referee and the UFC cutman have all been criticized for their actions resulting in a 28-second delay after the scheduled start for the third round.
[38] Once again, Evans was unable to obtain medical clearance to compete on the card and was pulled from the bout on November 21.
He also thanked the US Army, claiming that there was 'no greater moment' than his victory in the main event of UFC: Fight for the Troops 3.
The school is built off the Acton Academy model which emphasizes student-led learning through Socratic discussion and real world projects.
He most recently hosted the show on Discovery Channel Hard to Kill, in which he attempted to explore a day in the life of the world's most dangerous occupations.
He's also done several military advisor roles & stunt coordinator positions notably with Range 15 as well as works on Steve-O: Guilty as Charged, and short film Next to You.