Tim Kennedy has rolled with the punches for his entire MMA career, which began in 2001 in Oroville, Calif. on the regional circuit, and ended nearly 15 years later in Toronto on the biggest stage. It wasn’t supposed to end the way it did.
Kennedy had hoped to hang up the gloves, win or lose, at Madison Square Garden three weeks earlier against Rashad Evans at UFC 205. That fight was scrapped when Evans failed to clear a medical test beforehand, which sent Kennedy to Canada for a fight with Kelvin Gastelum. He rolled with the punches, though, and ended up losing via third-round TKO (punches).