Tim Kennedy: As Long As Bisping Fights Clean, He Has No Chance
Almost right after Tim Kennedy’s impressive knockout of Rafael Natal at Wednesday’s “Fight for the Troops 3,” the Army Green Beret shifted his focus to calling out longtime UFC middleweight contender Michael Bisping.
Bisping is on the shelf mending from unfortunate detached retina surgery that forced him to withdraw from his scheduled UFC Fight Night 30 main event again Mark Munoz in Manchester, but that didn’t stop him from appearing on last night’s edition of “Inside MMA” to talk a little trash about Kennedy and accept his challenge:
“So Wednesday night Tim Kennedy knocked somebody out and ever since then, he’s been calling me out. To be honest, he’s been calling me out for years now and I’m a little bit tired of it so Tim, if you want to fight, you know where to find me. Call the UFC if you’re man enough and let’s get it on. I’ve been in the UFC for 8 years and I’ve never turned downed an opponent yet. When you were in basic training shining shoes, I was kicking ass in the UFC so if you think I’m intimidated by you mate, come on, get a grip, it’s a little bit silly if I’m honest”
It’s classic Bisping, taking jabs at his opponent’s past to incite a bigger buildup to their rumored fight. It’s looking more and more like these two will square off in the Octagon at some point. Dana White was on record saying that Kennedy will get a big fight, and Bisping definitely foots that bill.
For his part, Kennedy was quick to respond to Bisping’s barbs, calling him a dirty fighter. He even went as far as to say TRT use isn’t nearly as bad as some of the indiscretions Bisping has committed inside the cage:
“Thank God we have had soldiers shining shoes since 1775 so we don’t have to sound like how that dude sounds. You know, that’s horrific. Additionally, he’s been in the UFC for 8 years, I’ve been in the UFC for 6 months and I’m in the same position as he is… Go get a couple wins and then come and talk to me Bisping. Additionally, yeah I have something against him.
He’s a dirty fighter. He eye-pokes, knees downed opponents, and he spits on their corners. He complains about guys doing TRT, but truthfully, the things that he does in the cage are even worse. I haven’t been calling him out, I’ve been pointing out that he’s a dirty fighter and he takes offense to that. So hey, you can rest assured I called the UFC, and I was like, ‘I want to fight Bisping. I want to monkey stomp him.’ I don’t care where I do it. As long as he fights a clean fight, he has no chance…. I’d love to fight that guy and it’s going to happen.”
Kennedy isn’t known as a huge trash talker, but it seems like the gloves are off heading into this one. Bisping will be tentatively set to return sometime early next year, so this bout makes for a potentially entertaining co-main event. It’s going to need to be, because the back-and-forth is already reaching a feverish pitch. Who do you like in this one?
