Opinion: Garner Grind a Nice Change of Pace

Kenny Garner is not the prettiest-looking heavyweight, but he handles himself pretty well. In a rematch with Pat Bennett at M-1 Challenge 26 on Saturday, the Din Thomas-trained Garner secured his second stoppage over Bennett in a rousing bout.

The key to Garner’s victory? Constant pressure, and smashing anything available, including Bennett’s body while the two were chest-to-chest in various tie-up positions. While heavyweights often depend on one mammoth shot to turn a fight their way, Garner’s grinding attack was a nice change of pace. He’s still a little wild on the feet at times, but he can take a shot and seems confident he’ll get the better of exchanges.

Now focused on a shot against M-1 heavyweight champion Guram Gugenishvili, who submitted him in October to win the vacant title, Garner hopes to get revenge.



Jason Probst can be reached at [email protected] or twitter.com/jasonprobst. Video interview by Joe Ortiz.