Kennedy: Bisping is a dirty fighter
Tim Kennedy: “I can’t freak out when he grabs my shorts. I have to be aware of him [Michael Bisping] trying to poke me in the eye with his fingers.”
When Tim Kennedy finally gets in the cage with Michael Bisping, we hope that the feeling of hate they seem to have for each other boils over into a great fight.
Kennedy is hoping for a great fight, but also a clean one:
“I don’t know him personally,” Kennedy said. “I’ve never gone and had a drink with him, or chatted it up, or rubbed elbows at a party. So I can’t speak to what he’s like outside the cage at all. The only thing I know is how he fights. … Not just spitting on opponents, not just kneeing downed opponents, etc. etc. etc. He always eye gouges. He always kicks to the groin. He always grabs shorts. He always grabs the cage. He always lifts his arm over the top of the cage. Not habitually, but always. Every fight, he does it. He’s a dirty fighter.”
As for how he might mitigate Bisping’s perceived dirtiness when they get into the Octagon, Kennedy says it starts with officiating assignments.
“I’m hoping we have a strong reffing presence,” Kennedy says. “That does make a difference. There’s a big disparity between having guys like Big John McCarthy and Herb Dean in there that are aggressive.”
Beyond that, it’s about keeping your cool under fire.
“You have to be mentally prepared for him to do dirty things,” Kennedy said. “I can’t freak out when he grabs my shorts. I have to be aware of him trying to poke me in the eye with his fingers.”