It was a dream come true for Surrey’s Jeremy Kennedy on Saturday night (Aug. 27).
The MMA athlete made his UFC debut at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, and won.
In the night’s first fight, he scored a unanimous decision over fellow Canadian newcomer Alessandro Ricci in a lightweight-division battle.
Kennedy, 23, is a natural lightweight who was competing in a division up.
After his fight, he sounded thrilled and definitely ready for more action in the UFC.
“I knew it’d be the majority of my crowd, but there were a lot more people there than I expected,” Kennedy told reporters.
“Like, it was pretty loud in there, which is cool, you know. I kind of built that up in my head anyway so I was ready for it when it came and yeah, it was good.”
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Local MMA reporter E. Spencer Kyte wrote this about Kennedy’s UFC debut: “‘JBC’ was still able to control the majority of the action along the cage and maintain his unbeaten record, putting him in an advantageous position heading into his sophomore appearance.
“(Kennedy) is much better suited to competing at ’45 and intends to return there for his next fight and while Saturday’s showing was far from electric, Kennedy has youth on his side, a well-rounded skill set and plenty of upside, so he’s definitely one to keep tabs on going forward.”
Below, see post-fight media scrum with Kennedy posted to the “UFC on Fox 21” YouTube channel.
