Casey Kenney

Casey James Kenney (born March 20, 1991)[4] is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently competing in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and he was the former Tachi Palace Fights Flyweight champion and Legacy Fighting Alliance Flyweight and Bantamweight champion. As of January 19, 2021, he is #15 in the UFC bantamweight rankings.[5]

Casey Kenney
BornCasey James Kenney
(1991-03-20) March 20, 1991
Portland, Indiana, United States[1]
NationalityAmerican
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb)
DivisionBantamweight
Reach67[2] in (170 cm)
Fighting out ofTucson, Arizona, United States
TeamRise Combat Sports
MMA Lab[3]
TrainerChris Cariaso
John Crouch
Rank2nd dan black belt in Judo[2]
Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu[2]
Years active2014–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total19
Wins16
By knockout2
By submission5
By decision9
Losses2
By decision2
Draws1
Other information
UniversityUniversity of Indianapolis
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

Kenney was born in 1991 to Brian Kenney and Roxanne Mosier in Portland.[6] He started training judo at the age of five, eventually becoming nine-time national champion and holds 2nd dan black belt in the sport.[2] Besides judo, Kenney started wrestling around the time he went to school.[7] Like in judo, Kenney excelled in wrestling too, winning multiple state championships in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.[2]

Kenney attended Jay County High School in Indiana. After high school, he took his first amateur mixed martial arts bout on a whim without prior training.[7] He went to study at University of Indianapolis, only to drop out after sophomore year to pursue his career in mixed martial arts.[7] In an effort to do so, Kenney moved to Tucson to train at the MMA Lab and turned professional in late 2014.[1][7]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Kenney fought most of his early professional fights primarily in the Tachi Palace Fights and Dragon House in California and Arizona.[8] After amassing a record of 6-0 and captured the Tachi Palace Flyweight title against Alvin Cacdac,[9] Kenney made two appearances in Dana White's Contender Series - Season - Season 1, Episode 2 web-series program on July 18, 2018, facing C.J. Hamilton where he won the fight via unanimous decision, but lost to Adam Antolin at Dana White's Contender Series - Season 1, Episode 8 on August 29, 2017.[1] Kenny went on to fought under Legacy Fighting Alliance for the next four fights and he became the Flyweight and Bantamweight Legacy Fighting Alliance champion prior signed with UFC.[1]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In his UFC debut, Kenney faced Ray Borg, replacing Kyler Phillips in six day notice, on March 30, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 2.[10] At the weigh-ins, Borg weighed in at 137.75 lbs, 1.75 pound over the bantamweight non-title fight limit of 136 lbs.[11] He was fined 20% of his fight purse and his bout against Kenney proceeded at catchweight.[12] Kenny won the fight via unanimous decision.[13]

On December 29, 2018, Kenney faced Manny Bermudez on August 17, 2019 at UFC 241.[14] However, the UFC decided to move the bout to a catchweight bout of 140 lbs. due to the fighters cutting substantial weight the night before weigh-ins.[15] Kenney won the bout via unanimous decision.[16]

Kenney faced Merab Dvalishvili on February 15, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 167.[17] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[18]

Kenney faced Louis Smolka on May 30, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns.[19] He won the fight via a submission through a guillotine choke in round one.[20]

Kenney was expected to face Heili Alateng on September 27, 2020 at UFC 253.[21] However, due to unknown reasons, it was moved to UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana on October 4, 2020.[22] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[23]

Kenny faced Nathaniel Wood on October 24, 2020 at UFC 254.[24] He won the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision.[25] This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.[26]

Kenney is expected to face former WEC Bantamweight and UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz at UFC 259 on March 6, 2021.[27]

Controversies

Kenney created controversy during an appearance on “The Timbo Sugarshow” podcast when he was asked by co-host Tim Welch, if he would “smash” (meaning have sex with) his colleague, Megan Anderson, a UFC featherweight female fighter. Kenny answered the question openly "Probably not, man,” Kenney said, laughing. “She’s not too … well, I mean, if it came down to it, and it was like 5 a.m., 4, she’s a 5 a.m.-er, 4 a.m.-er. Just us two hanging out, like, ‘F*ck it, let’s do it." Anderson in response stated "I guess MMA is a line of work where you can publicly talk about whether you'd have sex with a coworker in an utterly degrading way and face zero consequences. Disgusting behavior and it's unfortunate that he'll be fighting on my card in March." Later, Kenney issued an apology to Anderson.[28][29]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
19 matches 16 wins 2 losses
By knockout 2 0
By submission 5 0
By decision 9 2
Draws 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 16–2–1 Nathaniel Wood Decision (unanimous) UFC 254 October 24, 2020 3 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Catchweight (140 lb) bout. Fight of the Night.
Win 15–2–1 Heili Alateng Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana October 4, 2020 3 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win 14–2–1 Louis Smolka Submission (guillotine choke) UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns May 30, 2020 1 3:03 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 13–2–1 Merab Dvalishvili Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Anderson vs. Błachowicz 2 February 15, 2020 3 5:00 Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States
Win 13–1–1 Manny Bermudez Decision (unanimous) UFC 241 August 17, 2019 3 5:00 Anaheim, California, United States Catchweight (140 lb) bout.
Win 12–1–1 Ray Borg Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Gaethje March 30, 2019 3 5:00 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Catchweight (137.75 lb) bout; Borg missed weight.
Win 11–1–1 Vince Cachero KO (knee) LFA 62 March 22, 2019 1 1:38 Dallas, Texas, United States Won the interim LFA Bantamweight Championship.
Win 10–1–1 Brandon Royval Decision (unanimous) LFA 53 November 9, 2018 5 5:00 Phoenix, Arizona, United States Won the interim LFA Flyweight Championship.
Win 9–1–1 Roman Salazar Decision (unanimous) LFA 44 June 15, 2018 3 5:00 Phoenix, Arizona, United States Bantamweight debut.
Win 8–1–1 Kendrick Latchman Decision (unanimous) LFA 31 January 19, 2018 3 5:00 Phoenix, Arizona, United States Catchweight (130 lb) bout.
Loss 7–1–1 Adam Antolin Decision (split) Dana White's Contender Series 8 August 29, 2017 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 7–0–1 C.J. Hamilton Decision (unanimous) Dana White's Contender Series 2 July 18, 2017 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Draw 6–0–1 Bruno Gustavo da Silva Draw (split) LFA 11 May 5, 2017 3 5:00 Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win 6–0 Alvin Cacdac Submission (rear-naked choke) TPF 30 February 2, 2017 1 4:09 Lemoore, California, United States Won the vacant TPF Flyweight Championship.
Win 5–0 Rafael Angel Hernandez Submission (brabo choke) TPF 27 May 19, 2016 1 3:44 Lemoore, California, United States Catchweight (127 lb) bout.
Win 4–0 Anthony Torres Submission (armbar) TPF 26 February 18, 2016 1 1:48 Lemoore, California, United States
Win 3–0 Victor Rosas TKO (doctor stoppage) TPF 25 November 19, 2015 3 4:31 Lemoore, California, United States
Win 2–0 Paul Amaro Decision (unanimous) Dragon House 20 June 6, 2015 3 5:00 San Francisco, California, United States Catchweight (130 lb) bout.
Win 1–0 Elijah Muhammad Submission (rear-naked choke) Duel for Domination 10 December 20, 2014 2 2:26 Mesa, Arizona, United States Flyweight debut.

[31]

See also

References
  1. Bitter, Shawn (2019-03-28). "Welcome to the UFC: Casey Kenney". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  2. "Casey Kenney | UFC". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  3. Ollie Carlson (February 11, 2020). "Casey Kenney compares coaches John Crouch and Chris Cariaso to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady". thebodylockmma.com.
  4. Mixed martial arts show results Date: May 30, 2020
  5. "Rankings | UFC". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  6. "Casey Kenney". athletics.uindy.edu.
  7. Dan Kuhl (May 4, 2017). "LFA 11's Casey Kenney: Work Ethic Galore". combatpress.com.
  8. "Casey Kenney | MMA Fighter Page". Tapology. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  9. Lee, Alexander K. (2019-03-22). "Casey Kenney expects LFA 'champ-champ' status to lead to UFC call". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  10. Mike Bohn (2019-03-25). "LFA double champ Casey Kenney steps in vs. Ray Borg on short notice at UFC Philadelphia". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  11. "UFC on ESPN 2 weigh-in results: Barboza, Gaethje official, but Ray Borg misses". MMA Junkie. 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  12. Staff (2019-03-29). "UFC on ESPN 2 weigh-in results: Barboza, Gaethje official, but Ray Borg misses". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  13. "UFC Philadelphia: Casey Kenney wins unpopular decision over Ray Borg". MMA Junkie. 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  14. "Manny Bermudez vs. Casey Kenney set for UFC 241 in Anaheim". MMA Junkie. 2019-07-08. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  15. Alexander, Mookie (2019-08-16). "UFC 241 weigh-in results and video: Cormier (236.5), Miocic (230.5) come in lighter for rematch". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  16. Doherty, Dan (2019-08-17). "UFC 241 Results: Casey Kenney Hands Manny Bermudez First Loss". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  17. Staff (2020-03-09). "Bantamweight clash between Casey Kenney and Merab Dvalishvili for UFC Rio Rancho". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2019-12-19.(in Dutch)
  18. Evanoff, Josh (2020-02-15). "UFC Rio Rancho Results: Merab Dvalishvili Dominates Casey Kenney". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  19. Mike Heck (2019-05-21). "Casey Kenney vs. Louis Smolka targeted for UFC event May 30". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  20. McClory, Mike (2020-05-30). "UFC Vegas Results: Casey Kenney Sinks In Guillotine, Submits Louis Smolka". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  21. Farah Hannoun (2020-07-19). "Casey Kenney vs. Heili Alateng added to UFC 253 lineup". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  22. Matthew Scott (2020-09-07). "UFC: China's 'Mongolian Knight' Heili Alateng looking to carve up bantamweight division". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  23. Evanoff, Josh (2020-10-03). "UFC Fight Island 4 Results: Casey Kenney Brutalizes Heili Alateng". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  24. ATSteveDuncan (2020-10-05). "Casey Kenney vs. Nathaniel Wood agregado a UFC 254". MMA.uno, #1 En noticias de Artes Marciales Mixtas (MMA) en Español. (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  25. Vreeland, Daniel (2020-10-24). "UFC 254 Results: Casey Kenney Outworks Nathaniel Wood in a Banger". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  26. Anderson, Jay (2020-10-24). "UFC 254 Bonuses: Khabib Earns Performance Award in Final Fight". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  27. Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun (December 5, 2020). "Ex-champ Dominick Cruz meets Casey Kenney at UFC 259 in March". MMA Junkie. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  28. "UFC's Casey Kenney apologizes to Megan Anderson after 'utterly degrading' sexual remarks". MMA Junkie. 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  29. Martin, Adam (2021-01-29). "Megan Anderson lashes out at Casey Kenney for "disgusting" comments on recent podcast, Kenney issues quick apology | BJPenn.com". | BJPenn.com. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  30. "MMA Junkie's 'Fight of the Month' for October: A catchweight scrap". MMAjunkie.com. November 3, 2020.
  31. Sherdog.com. "Casey Kenney MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.