Tim Kennedy: I have many advantages over Lyoto Machida
Tim Kennedy said last week that he's getting the itch to return to UFC action, and that he hoped to get a "loser leaves town" fight with Lyoto Machida. During a recent Submission Radio interview, Kennedy specified that, of course, he wasn't proposing a real, binding stipulation for a fight between he and "The Dragon."
"It wasn't a stipulation. I never said stipulation, and I was just making fun," he said.
"Man, we're both crusty old farts. You know we've both been fighting for so long that at this point [in our careers] I think if both of us had another loss, is there any realistic chance that we'd be fighting for a title? If I don't have hopes of fighting for a title, then what's the point of me fighting? I'm not going to be that guy that's just holding on for another fight for another pay check...I want to be fighting the best guys in the world, and you know, Lyoto's still one of those guys. I think he's one of the most talented athletes ever, but he's also getting old."
Kennedy respects Machida, who is coming off a submission loss to Luke Rockhold earlier in the month, but believes that the former light heavyweight champ is on the decline. While he admits that his style of fighting may not be as fan-friendly as Machida's, Kennedy believes that his manner of fighting ages better.
"Maybe [he's] losing a little bit of his edge and quickness that he relies upon," he said.
"You know, his style is very based on responsiveness, and that's one of the first things to go. My style, on the other hand, that power grinder with big punches, with takedowns, lay on top of you and just take your soul and eat it...my style lasts longer."
Kennedy, always eager to crack a joke or two, also said that he would have many other advantages over Machida, should they meet in the Octagon. "Man, I have so many advantages over him that I'm not sure I can even list them," he began.
"First and foremost, I don't ingest urine. You know, I think my ability to consume other fluids is, first and foremost, paramount in the matchup. So the toxins that are going to be leaving my penis, I'm not going to put back down my throat. So, that's major. And second is, I think karate is dead. So, he may be good at a whole bunch of things and karate is also one of them, but karate is not what made him successful. He's a black belt in Jiu Jitsu, he has fantastic wrestling, he has great kickboxing, but he can still walk out with his karate gi. He can try to front kick me - that would be cool. What else? I'm trying to think of other things. I have better hair."
Lyoto Machida drinks his own urine - a practice he learned from his karate instructor father. Kennedy really said everything that needs to be said about that.
He did have some interesting perspective on Rockhold, who he lost to by decision in Strikeforce, possibly taking on UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. Weidman may be the man, right now, but Kennedy believes that the former Strikeforce champ is a bad match up for "The All-American."
"It's a bad fight for Chris, stylistically," he said.
"He's going to take Luke down? Like, Luke is really hard to take down, and when you get him down his Jiu Jitsu is amazing. It's one of the best and underrated offensive Jiu Jitsu games in MMA. [Luke] has the range, he has the height, he has the size, he has the power. It's a very, very difficult -- you know of all the fights, if you look at Chris and match him up with the next six of us, that's his toughest match up. And I think Chris and I would be a very tough fight, I think 'Jacare' and Chris would be a tough fight. Yoel [Romero] and Chris would be a very tough fight, and then you have Luke sitting here.
"I think Luke could win a decision. A five-round, out-point him, hit him on the outside, force Chris to have to push for the takedown, push for the big punches while he's getting eaten up on angles....I think Chris leans in later rounds. He loses some steam. That doesn't happen with Luke. You know, Luke if anything gets faster and better as the rounds go on."
