Jeremy Kennedy has begun to make inroads in the Bellator MMA featherweight division.
As Kennedy makes final preparations for his looming showdown with Carvalho at 145 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. He hit the ground running.
Kennedy made his professional mixed martial arts debut at the age of 20 in 2013, when he took a three-round unanimous decision from Dan Lin at a regional show in Penticton, British Columbia. He went on to start his career with 11 consecutive victories, emerging as one of the top prospects in the Great White North.
2. His success brought spoils.
“JBC” laid claim to the Battlefield Fight League featherweight title when he outpointed Mario Pereira to a unanimous decision across five rounds in the BFL 34 main event on Jan. 24, 2015. Kennedy later vacated his throne to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
3. He proved his worth on multiple fronts.
Kennedy fought in the UFC and the Professional Fighters League before arriving in Bellator. He compiled a 3-1 record in four assignments inside the Octagon, his victories over Alessandro Ricci, Rony Mariano Bezerra and Kyle Bochniak offset by his second-round technical knockout loss to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 221. Kennedy signed with the PFL in 2019 and reached the featherweight semifinals with wins over Steven Siler and Luis Rafael Laurentino.
4. Versatility made him a more attractive commodity.
The Surrey, British Columbia, native has posted wins in three different weight classes since he turned pro nearly a decade ago: bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight.
5. He covers all his bases.
Kennedy operates out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, where he trains under a number of top-shelf coaches—they include Erick Nicksick, Eddie Barraco and Jake Shields—and sharpens his skills alongside a host of world-class stablemates, from Chris Curtis, Julian Erosa and Miesha Tate to Cody Stamann, Manel Kape and Patrick Mix.