Kennedy to fight for the title
May 11th, 2012 | Army Combatives Mixed martial arts | Posted by Michelle Tan
It’s official – Army Staff Sgt. Tim Kennedy will step back into the mixed-martial arts ring for another shot at the Strikeforce middleweight title.
Kennedy will fight reigning champ Luke Rockhold July 14 in Portland, Ore.
Kennedy, a decorated Special Forces soldier who is now serving in the Texas Army National Guard, has a 14-3 record. During his last fight, in July, Kennedy defeated Robbie Lawler by unanimous decision.
Rockhold holds a 9-1 record, and according to MMAjunkie.com, he is looking for his second successful title defense since narrowly winning the belt from Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and then defending it with a January knockout of Keith Jardine.
Kennedy fought for the vacant Strikeforce title in August 2010, according to MMAjunkie.com, but suffered a unanimous-decision loss to Souza. Since then, Kennedy returned to title contention with a submission victory against Melvin Manhoef and his most recent win against Lawler.
On his Facebook page, Kennedy wrote: “At last, I will be fighting Luke Rockhold July 14 in Portland. Super excited!”
The fights will air July 14 on Showtime.
Until then, check out the Kennedy-Lawler fight from last summer:
Military MMA links: Brian Stann matchmaking, vet in XFC, Tim Kennedy as ‘Anchorman’
March 30th, 2012 | Combatives UFC | Posted by Kevin Lilley
Three quick hits to feed your Friday combatives needs.
1. He’s Ron Burgundy? If you’re under a rock, you may have missed this week’s bulletin that Will Ferrell will return to the newsdesk in a sequel to “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” (If you’re under a rock and don’t watch TBS, here’s the official announcement, complete with jazz flute). What’s this have to do with combatives, aside from the close-combat skills exhibited when Brick killed that guy? Allow champion MMA tweet-sender Army Staff Sgt. Tim Kennedy to explain:
I know everyone is talking about @_RonBurgund and ANCHORMAN 2. Wait till you see my version of Ron in @Ranger_Up video twitter.com/TimKennedyMMA/…
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) March 29, 2012
Further proof that when you need a video parody, go with a sniper/fighter in a fake mustache: 60 percent of the time, it works every time.
2. Stann vs. Shields? Former Marine Capt. Brian Stann is sent to face Alessio Sakara in a 185-pound bout at UFC on FUEL TV 2, which will air live from Sweden on April 14. Stann is a heavy favorite, but certainly won’t be looking past the 10-year pro.
Thankfully, fans can look past anybody. Who might be next for the Silver Star recipient? One idea: Jake Shields, who’s announced plans to move back to the 185-pound class after a .500 run (2-2) as a 170-pounder. A summary of the rationale presented by Sean Smith at Bleacher Report: Shields would have the chance to take down one of the UFC’s largest middleweights, while Stann could turn heads if his ground game could keep up with a top grappler.
3. Gotta love the XFC: Live from Jackson, Tenn., on April 13 comes XFC 17, the next card from a promotion a step or two below the big boys, but one that always seems to have a former service member somewhere in the lineup. XFC 16 featured a win by former Marine Dustin West and a loss by multiple-time Army combatives champ Staff Sgt. Brandon Sayles. The April 13 event, which will air on HDNet, features Air Force vet Ricco Ralston on the (likely untelevised) undercard.
FUEL TV posts profile of former Marine and UFC fighter Brian Stann
March 21st, 2012 | After Action Combatives UFC | Posted by militaryonline
From our friends at Battle Rattle:
FUEL TV has posted the Brian Stann profile that aired last night. In it, the former Marine officer turned pro MMA fighter recounts his time in Iraq, including a six-day battle for which he was awarded the Silver Star.
MMA update: Marines bring combatives to the combat zone
March 14th, 2012 | Afghanistan Combatives Marine Corps | Posted by Kevin Lilley
Lance Cpl. Keith Silva, right, tries to take down Lance Cpl. Brett P. Schwindt during Saturday's ground-fighting tournament at Camp Dwyer, Afghanistan. Silva ended up taking top honors in the 180-to-199-pound weight class. (Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alfred V. Lopez)
Part March Madness. Part martial arts. Part bragging rights. Mostly, a morale boost for Marines in theater.
Marines assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, took out some war-zone stress and showed off their martial arts skills the last two Saturdays, competing in a ground-fighting tournament that organizers hope will build camaraderie within the unit.
Check out a full write-up and some more pics, all by Cpl. Alfred V. Lopez, here. According to the piece, the combatives exercises are just a part of the pseudo-Olympics set up by CLB 1. They’ve already had football, soccer and volleyball events, and they’re planning a strongman competition — probably without the keg toss or the refrigerator-strapped-on-your-back race, but you can’t rule anything out.
CLB 1 is on a seven-month deployment in Helmand province that began in late September.
Brian Stann part of UFC on FUEL TV broadcast
February 14th, 2012 | Combatives Marine Corps Mixed martial arts UFC | Posted by Kevin Lilley
Former Marine Capt. Brian Stann won’t re-enter the octagon until April 14, but the Silver Star recipient will participate in the UFC’s next big television event.
Stann tweeted that he was heading to Omaha, Neb., to be a part of FUEL TV’s inaugural live UFC card, which airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern. His duties include sharing the post-fight set with “NFL on Fox” regular Jay Glazer and mixed martial arts journalist Ariel Helwani.
The former Marine will be back on FUEL TV for his April middleweight fight against Alessio Sakara in Stockholm, one of four fights slated for the cable station’s second live UFC card, according to our good friends at MMAJunkie.com.
(Speaking of our friends, check out their recap of XFC 16 from last weekend, which included the first pro loss for superheavyweight Army Staff Sgt. Brandon Sayles and an 83-second knockout win for former Marine Dustin West.)
UFC on FUEL TV 1 has six fights slated for broadcast, with a welterweight main event pitting Jake Ellenberger against Diego Sanchez. Never heard of FUEL TV? Check here to see whether the channel is available in your area, or whether you’re eligible for a weeklong free preview that will cover fight night.
Military MMA links: Brandon Sayles video, Herschel Walker visit, Marine boxers win
February 10th, 2012 | Army Boxing Combatives Football Marine Corps Mixed martial arts UFC | Posted by Kevin Lilley
For those of you sick of the latest service academy basketball news (either here or here), try these combatives links:
Army (Superheavyweight) Strong: Staff Sgt. Brandon Sayles gets a nice video treatment from the folks at HDNet before his fight tonight at XFC 16:
Sayles, a three-time Army Combatives Championship winner, will face Chase Gormley live on HDNet; the fights start at 10 p.m. ET. Also on the card is former Marine Dustin West — check out an XFC news release on his work with the Wounded Warrior Project here. Not sure if you get HDNet? Click the “subscribe” tab here.
Football legend stops by: Herschel Walker is known for many things — a college football career that ranks among the best ever, his time as the face of the now-defunct USFL, the famous trade that sent him to Minnesota and helped create a Dallas dynasty (How famous? This famous), and a 2-0 record as a Strikeforce heavyweight as he rushes head-on toward age 50.
He’s also known for going public with his battle against Dissociative Identity Disorder. Multiple personalities may not be at the top of the priority list for military medicine, but mental health issues are. That’s why Walker’s message during his recent visit with soldiers and families at Fort Bliss, Texas, is so important. Staff Sgt Casey J. McGeorge, who wrote this release about the visit, put it best: “There is no shame in seeking help.”
Walker, who turns 50 in March, may have one more fight left in him, according to an SB Nation report citing a recent interview in a magazine After Action only reads for the articles.
Marines take gold: OK, the arts aren’t exactly “mixed,” but it’s big news anyway — the Marine Corps ended Army’s two-decade win streak at the Armed Forces Boxing Championship at Camp Pendleton, Calif., earlier this month. Click the previous link to read about Marine Sgt. DeJesus Gardner’s gutty performance in the 201-pound weight class to clinch the overall win, and get the Army write-up here.
MMA notes: Main event for Stann card, Bisping on Kennedy
January 11th, 2012 | Combatives Mixed martial arts UFC | Posted by Kevin Lilley
Before we bring you a few notes on military-related mixed martial arts, a brief foreign policy discussion from Strikeforce middleweight contender and Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Tim Kennedy:
@dominicanlou84 @brianstann they are dumb.
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) January 4, 2012
You want to argue with him?
1. ‘The Count’ strikes back: In addition to foreign policy, Kennedy also weighed in on fiscal responsibility recently, saying last month that UFC middleweight Michael “The Count” Bisping was overpaid for his Dec. 3 knockout over Jason “Mayhem” Miller at The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale. Bisping reportedly pocketed more than $400,000 for dispatching Miller, who reportedly got $45,000.
Asked about Kennedy’s comments about three minutes into this video, the UFC fighter in 60 seconds manages to (a) pretend he doesn’t know who Kennedy is, (b) remind viewers that Miller defeated Kennedy in 2007, and (c) tell the former Special Forces soldier to “go out there, win some fights, and people might give a damn about what he says.”
Bisping fights Demian Maia on Jan. 28 as part of UFC on Fox 2. Kennedy’s dance card is clear at the moment.
2. Stann in semi-main spot: Our good friends at MMAJunkie.com report that UFC on FUEL TV 2, which will feature former Marine Brian Stann, has a main event: Alexander Gustafsson (15-1) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (20-5). The main draw isn’t a surprise: Gustafsson is a rising Swedish star, and the April 14 card takes place in Stockholm. Stann (11-4) appears set for semi-main status in his fight against Alessio Sakara (15-8).
3. Big up-and-comer Three-time Army Combatives Champion Brandon Sayles is due for some national exposure Feb. 16 when he fights Chase Gormley in a superheavyweight bout on HDNet as part of XFC 16: High Stakes. Sayles won the Army event in 2009 as a staff sergeant with 3rd Infantry Division; he also took top honors in 2008 and 2006. The 6-foot-5 Hawaiian, 2-0 at the pro MMA level, tips the scales at 300-plus pounds, meaning a future in the UFC could be contingent on cutting enough weight to make the 265-pound heavyweight limit.
Combatives first
August 12th, 2011 | Army Combatives Mixed martial arts | Posted by Michelle Tan
She’s a captain in the 101st Airborne Division‘s 2nd Brigade Combat Team. She is also the Screaming Eagles’ newest bantamweight combatives champ.
Capt. Michelle LaForest submitted her opponent on Wednesday during the Week of the Eagles Combatives Tournament, making her the first woman to win in her weight class at a post-level tournament.
Credit: Fort Campbell Courier
Nearly 90 soldiers competed in the combatives tournament here at the Sabre Army Heliport hangar Fort Campbell, Ky., according to the Fort Campbell Courier. As the soldiers progressed through the various rounds, only 32 remained to fight in the finals, which allows striking and is not much different from a mixed martial arts fight you’d catch on TV.
The Fort Campbell Courier dubbed LaForest’s fight the tournament’s Cinderella story, drawing loud, boisterous cheers when she submitted her opponent with an arm bar.
“As a female, I feel like we’re representing,” LaForest told the Courier. “I’m really happy because a female won.”
LaForest, who belongs to the 526th Brigade Support Battalion, is no stranger to Army combatives. She placed second in the flyweight division during the 2009 Week of the Eagles combatives tournament.
Soldier from 2nd BCT won the overall team title with 215 points, followed by 1st BCT and then 3rd BCT, according to the Courier.
Kennedy vs. Lawler
July 29th, 2011 | After Action Army Combatives Mixed martial arts | Posted by Michelle Tan
Tune in to Showtime tomorrow night to watch Staff Sgt. Tim Kennedy take on Robbie Lawler in his latest Strikeforce mixed-martial arts battle.
Kennedy, a Special Forces soldier who now serves in the Texas Army National Guard, has a 13-3 record. He will fight Lawler, who has a record of 19-7-1. The men, who both fight at 185 pounds, will step into the ring at the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago.
The last time we saw Kennedy was when he submitted Melvin Manhoef with a rear naked choke in the first round of their March fight.
Headlining Saturday’s main card are Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson.
The fights are live on Showtime at 10 p.m. EST.
To whet your appetite, check out the Kennedy-Manhoef fight again:
Anderson vs. Chappelle: The upset of the 2010 Combatives Tournament
October 12th, 2010 | Army Combatives | Posted by Phil Creed
We’re way late posting this, but I know some folks out there were looking for video of the fight between Sgt. Andrew Chappelle and Capt. Jon Anderson at the 2010 U.S. Army Combatives Tournament. This match produced the biggest upset of the weekend, with Anderson overwhelming Chappelle — a veteran of 16 professional fights dating back to 2002 — in the second round to earn the TKO victory.
Anderson had won his post’s cruiserweight championship earlier this year at the MCoE Modern Army Combatives Tournament at Fort Benning.
Watch and enjoy: