Strikeforce, Fedor vs. Henderson: Tim Kennedy Believes MMA Judging Is Flawed

It has become a common cliche for some fighters to say that there is nothing that can happen to them inside the cage that compares to the trials and tribulations they have dealt with outside of it. That doesn't mean that these fighters haven't seen their share of ugliness, but compared to Tim Kennedy, their lives have been a walk in the park.

Not only is Kennedy a Strikeforce middleweight contender, he is a US Army Special Forces soldier. After seeing action several times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, Kennedy has seen things most people would not be able to deal with on a day to day basis.

His mixed martial arts career has been successful and entertaining, even though he has lost long periods of time protecting our freedom and trying to make this country a safer place to live. Much like the Major League baseball players of the 1940's, Kennedy has sacrificed an opportunity at greatness in order to stand up for what matters to him most.

This Saturday night, Kennedy continues his journey back up the Strikeforce middleweight ladder after failing in his attempt to win the vacant middleweight title against current champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. This time, he faces southpaw slugger Robbie Lawler, who is also looking to rebound from a loss to Souza.

The winner will certainly make a strong statement and position themselves to face either Souza or Luke Rockhold, who will face off on September 10, in Cincinnati. Lawler was submitted by Souza in third round of their bout, but Kennedy gave "Jacare" all he could handle in a five round war last August.

As he prepares both physically and mentally for the hard hitting Lawler, Kennedy said he is raring to go and couldn't be more prepared.

"Everything is perfect and going according to plan," explained Kennedy. "At this point I have no major injuries which is always a godsend. My strength is off the charts right now. I've been training at Jackson's for a few weeks and after the initial adjustment to the altitude I feel great."

Kennedy began his MMA training alongside UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell and former Strikeforce middleweight champion and current UFC welterweight contender Jake Shields at The Pit way back in 1994. These days, you can find him training with some of the best fighters the sport has to offer in New Mexico at Greg Jackson's gym.

"I am training here for every fight now," said Kennedy. "I do some independent training, but I come here to put it all together. The quality of guys I can train with on a daily basis is incredible. Yesterday I was looking at some of the talent that was in the room with me: in one corner you have UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, there are three or four top-10 guys in each weight class. It just blows your mind."

"Everyone there is humble and just wants to help you get better," Kennedy told Bleacher Report MMA. "The reason why Jackson is so great is because he realizes he doesn't know everything and has no problem bringing in guys who can help us get better. He totally puts his ego aside and brings in the best wrestling coaches and BJJ coaches to make us better. Winklejohn is also amazing, Jackson takes what he sees and molds it into the best fighters we can be."

Since Zuffa purchased Strikeforce, fighters from both organizations have been asked about the possibility of crossover bouts. I first wanted to know how many fights Kennedy has left in his current contract, and who from the UFC's middleweight division did he find most appealing.

"As far as my current contract is concerned, I am not at liberty to discuss that," said Kennedy. "Demian Maia, Michael Bisping and Chris Leben, then of course there is always UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. When you think of the top 20 guys in the middleweight division, any of them can beat anyone of those guys at any given time."

"MMA is such a precision sport that one mistake or one off night can cause you to lose. You can not fight guys at this level and not suffer a lose, especially with the retarded judges sitting at ringside. As long as you are continuously fighting the best in the world you will have some losses."

Speaking of the judges, Kennedy was none too happy when he was handed the loss to Jacare in their championship match. While that fight can't be considered a gross injustice as some of the decisions we have seen lately, it still shows that maybe it's time for an overhaul as far as who the judges are and how they go about scoring a mixed martial arts bout.

"We need to get rid of these old school boxing judges first and foremost," Kennedy said matter of factly. "They have no business judging an MMA fight, but they have been friends with the athletic commissions for so long. These guys are idiots, they know nothing about wrestling, nothing about Jiu-Jitsu. Just because a guy goes out there and shows off some fancy footwork doesn't mean he deserves to win the round."

"I had one of the judges from the Jacare fight tell me to my face that he didn't score the kicks because he didn't feel that kicks did any damage. That was a very close fight and you have people say not to leave it in the hands of the judges, but when you have guys like me and Jacare fighting it's too close. You need judges to differentiate the subtleties of the scoring system. Right now it's in the toilet, a faulty system with faulty judges leading to crappy decisions."

"We need a new training system in place as well as a new scoring system. We can no longer score MMA bouts with the old boxing system. It would be great to see experienced MMA fighters to become judges once they are done fighting. Guys like Frank Shamrock or Bas Rutten, guys who have been around the sport for 20 years."

Lawler has long been known as a knockout artist whose ground game leaves something to be desired. Despite the fact that Kennedy has a huge advantage on the ground, I asked if he possibly try and throw Lawler off a little bit by keeping the fight standing for a little while.

"I think Melvin Manhoef was on the right track when he fought Lawler," Kennedy explained. "As long as you stay on the outside and blast away you can inflict some damage while staying out of harm's way at the same time. You always have to be aware of his power and how he can cover the distance very quickly. I think the combination of what Manhoef did and Jacare did will help me beat Lawler."

Kennedy is extremely focused on his task at hand, but he has to know a win will help him face the Souza-Rockhold title bout. He may not allow himself to think about it now, but if he beats Lawler, he will have to be considered as an opponent for the winner.

"Rockhold is such a darkhorse who is so dangerous and unknown," said Kennedy. "He has been plagued by injuries, but he is very athletic and has fantastic jiu-jitsu. Too many people are looking past him, and if I were a betting man I think Rockhold would be a great pick."

So, as Kennedy prepares for Lawler, he can go into that bout knowing there is nothing Lawler can throw at him that he hasn't seen already. As a matter of fact, it's not only his military training that has prepared him for his MMA bouts, but his time at Jackson's camp as well.

"Like I said before, I get to train with the greatest fighters in the world day in and day out. The grueling hours of practice we put in against one another make the actual fight seem a lot easier, but you will never find me underestimating any of my opponents both inside and outside of the cage. I have seem far too much to know better."

Along with being a fighter and in the US Army, Kennedy does a lot of work for Ranger Up, The Green Beret Foundation and Soldiers Angels. For any of you who would like to learn more about these great causes, please visit Kennedy's personal webpage.

On a side note, I asked Kennedy if he would ever consider fighting Brian Stann, and he said only if he became a Communist and tried to invade the United States, or if he held a championship. Under no other circumstances would he fight his Brother in Arms.