Jeremy Michael Fitz-Kennedy (born September 16, 1992) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

, currently competing in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division of

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

. In addition to competing for Bellator, Kennedy has also competed in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC) and the

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

(PFL). As of October 4, 2022, he is #5 in the Bellator Featherweight Rankings.

Background

Kennedy was born and raised in

Fleetwood, Surrey Fleetwood is a town centre of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada with a population of 62,735 as of 2016. Fleetwood is bounded by 76 Avenue in the south (above Cloverdale) to 96 Avenue in the north and from 144 Street in the west beside Newton Tow ...

, British Columbia, Canada. He started training boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the age of 13 to put up with his older brother. He graduated from Fleetwood Park Secondary School.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Before joining the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

, Kennedy held both the Battlefield Fight League Amateur and Professional Featherweight Championships while amassing an amateur record of 8–1 and a professional record of 8–0.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Kennedy made his promotional debut on August 27, 2016 at

UFC on Fox 21 ''UFC on Fox: Maia vs. Condit'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 21'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on August 27, 2016, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Background This was ...

against Alessandro Ricci. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Kennedy was briefly tabbed as a short notice replacement to face

Mirsad Bektic Mirsad is a masculine given name of classical Arabic origin, meaning "watch tower". It is a fairly common name among South Slavs of Muslim heritage. The feminine version is ''Mirsada''. People named Mirsad include: * Mirsad Bektić, Bosnian-Ameri ...

on October 8, 2016 at

UFC 204 ''UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on October 8, 2016 at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Background This was the fourth UFC event contested in Man ...

. Subsequently, after his participation was publicly confirmed, Kennedy indicated he was injured and unable to take the fight. He was replaced by

Russell Doane Russell Allan Doane is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Tachi Palace Fights Bantamweight Champion and King of the Cage Flyweigh ...

. Kennedy next faced

Rony Jason Rony Mariano Bezerra (born March 21, 1984), better known as Rony Jason, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, B ...

on March 11, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 106. He won the bout by unanimous decision. Kennedy faced

Kyle Bochniak Kyle Bochniak (born February 5, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2014, he has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Professional Fighters Leagu ...

on July 22, 2017 at

UFC on Fox 25 ''UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 25'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 22, 2017 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Background ...

. Kennedy won the fight via unanimous decision. Kennedy was scheduled to face

Alexander Volkanovski Alexander Volkanovski (born 29 September 1988) is an Australian mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Featherweight Champion. He is al ...

at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Tybura on 19 November 2017. However, Kennedy pulled out of the fight on October 5 citing a back injury. The bout with Volkanovski was rescheduled and took place on February 11, 2018 at

UFC 221 ''UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 11, 2018, at Perth Arena in Perth, Western Australia. Background While the UFC has hosted 11 previous events ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.

Brave CF

Kennedy's contract with the UFC ended after the Volkanovski bout and Kennedy grew tired of the contract negotiations for renewing, eventually leading him to sign with a new promotion - Brave CF. Kennedy headlined Brave 14 against Danyel Pilo on August 18, 2018. He won the fight via knockout in round one. Kennedy was expected to face

Marcos Galvão Marcos Galvão (born 23 June 1981) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2003, Galvão peaked at a global ranking ...

at PFL 8 for the alternate spot in the

's 2018 featherweight tournament. Due to a misunderstanding when making the contract with Brave CF, Kennedy assumed he was eligible to compete in other organizations' events. Just before Kennedy's fight, Brave CF officials contacted PFL to deny him from fighting. Briefly after the news surfaced, Brave CF officials revealed that Kennedy had signed a bout agreement to fight Marat Magomedov at Brave 18 on November 16, 2018. Kennedy headlined Brave 21 against Magomedov on December 28, 2018. He won the fight via TKO in the third round.

PFL

In 2019, Kennedy joined the

as an entrant in their 2019 Featherweight tournament. He was scheduled to face Alexandre Bezerra in the opening round, but Bezerra missed weight and was replaced by Luis Rafael Laurentino. Kennedy lost the fight via TKO in the first round. In the second round of PFL 2 regular season, Kennedy faced

Steven Siler Steven Scott Siler (born February 15, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2005, he has competed for the UFC, Titan FC, Ta ...

at PFL 5 on July 25, 2019. He won the fight by unanimous decision and advanced to the playoffs. In the quarterfinals, Kennedy faced Luis Rafael Laurentino at PFL 8 on October 17, 2019. He won the fight via second-round knockout and advanced to the semifinals contested later on the same day. In semifinals Kennedy lost to Daniel Pineda via first round submission and was eliminated from the tournament. However, Pineda tested positive for a banned substance and the result was overturned to no contest.

Bellator MMA

Kennedy signed with

in October 2020. He made his promotional debut against

Matt Bessette Matthew James Bessette (born December 28, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist currently competing in CES MMA where he is the reigning Featherweight Champion. A professional competitor since 2007, he has also competed for Bellato ...

at Bellator 253 on November 19, 2020. Kennedy won the fight by unanimous decision. Kennedy faced

Ádám Borics Ádám Borics (born July 7, 1993) is a Hungarian mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. As of October 4, 2022, he is #1 in the Bellator Featherweight Rankings. Early life Ádám Borics was born in ...

on April 9, 2021 at

Bellator 256 Bellator 256: Bader vs. Machida 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on April 9, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background The event was headlined by a Quarterfinal of the Bellator ...

. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. Kennedy faced

Emmanuel Sanchez Emmanuel Sanchez (born August 11, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Sanchez has also formerly competed for the Resurrection Fighting Allianc ...

on December 3, 2021 at

Bellator 272 Bellator 272: Pettis vs. Horiguchi was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on December 3, 2021 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background Sergio Pettis made his first defence of the Bell ...

. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Kennedy was scheduled to face

Aaron Pico Aaron Pico (born September 23, 1996) is an American mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler who currently competes in the featherweight division of Bellator MMA. As a freestyle wrestler, Pico competed at 65 kilograms, where he placed ...

on April 15, 2022 at

Bellator 277 ''Bellator 277: McKee vs. Pitbull 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on April 15, 2022, at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, United States. Background The event was headlined by a rematch between ...

. However, due to unknown reasons, Kennedy withdrew 8 days before the event. The bout against

was rebooked for October 1, 2022 at

Bellator 286 ''Bellator 286: Pitbull vs. Borics'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on October 1, 2022, at the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California, United States. Background In his first bout since reclaiming t ...

. After Pico hurt his shoulder mid way through the first round, the bout was stopped after the first round by the doctor. Kennedy is scheduled to face Pedro Carvalho on February 25, 2023 at Bellator 291.

Mixed martial arts record

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Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

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Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the New England town, town of Montville, Connecticut, Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a Administrative divisions of Connecticut#Village, neighborhood, section of town, village in southeastern Montville, at the ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–2 , Luis Rafael Laurentino , TKO (punches) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:24 , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , PFL 5 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–2 , Luis Rafael Laurentino , TKO (punches) , PFL 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:23 ,

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 , Marat Magomedov , TKO (punches) , Brave 21 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:08 ,

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

, Saudi Arabia , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Danyel Pilo , KO (elbows) , Brave 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:02 ,

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...

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Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 ,

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Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Alessandro Ricci , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fox: Maia vs. Condit , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Drew Brokenshire , Decision (unanimous) , BFL 43 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Coquitlam, British Columbia Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipalities comprising Metro Vancouver. ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Mario Pereira , Decision (unanimous) , BFL 34 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Richmond, British Columbia Richmond is a coastal city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. It occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough), between the two estuarine distributaries of the Fraser River. Encompassing the ad ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Andre Da Silva , Submission (rear-naked choke) , BFL 32 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:15 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Matthew Middleton , Submission (Peruvian necktie) , CMFC: Chiang Mai Fighting Championship 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:35 ,

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

, Thailand , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Viktor Larsson , TKO (punches) , SMMAF: Songkran MMA Festival , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:00 ,

Hua Hin Hua Hin ( th, หัวหิน, ) is one of eight districts (''amphoe'') of Prachuap Khiri Khan province in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula in Thailand. Its seat of government, also named Hua Hin, is a beach resort town. The district ...

, Thailand , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Natthapol Thanaruethai , KO (punches) , CMFC: Chiang Mai Fighting Championship 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:58 ,

, Thailand , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Blake Shearing , TKO (doctor stoppage) , FFL 10 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:11 ,

Grand Prairie, Alberta Grande Prairie is a city in northwest Alberta, Canada within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), a ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Dan Lin , Decision (unanimous) , BFL 24 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Penticton, British Columbia Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley of the British Columbia Interior, Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan Lake, Okanagan and Skaha Lake, Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its pop ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Jeremy Canadian male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people Sportspeople from Surrey, British Columbia 1992 births Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Canadian Muay Thai practitioners Canadian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu