UFC 162: July 6, 2013 MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada UFC Middleweight Contender Tim Kennedy (-120) Profile: Staff Sergeant and Special Forces sniper Tim Kennedy (15-4) has been hovering around the top of the Strikeforce middleweight division for years. Now, Kennedy is set to finally make his UFC debut after injuries to himself and his opponents. The 33-year-old military vet originally trained in The Pit along with Chuck Liddell, Glover Teixeira and others, and he amassed a decent record on the independent circuit against notable names like Jason Miller and Nick Thompson. But Kennedy has experienced an inconsistent amount of fights, mostly due to his lack of opportunities in Strikeforce and his time in the military. Despite losing to Luke Rockhold for the Strikeforce title a year ago, Kennedy remains a grinder and a huge middleweight who has an excellent gas tank and has never been finished. UFC Middleweight Contender Roger Gracie (-120) Profile: The first of the famous Gracie family to step inside the Octagon since Renzo at UFC 112, Roger Gracie (6-1) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter and an extremely dynamic one at that. As his career has gone on, Gracie has developed a solid stand-up game, and his move from light heavyweight to middleweight after he suffered his lone loss to Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal has seemed to do wonders for him. The 31-year-old is a huge Gracie family member with deadly BJJ and good takedown skills, which is pretty much all you need to know heading into his UFC debut. Opening UFC 162 Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made this fight a Pick’em with Kennedy and Gracie both opening at -120 (bet $120 to win $100) at Several Bookmakers sportsbook. Kennedy came under fire recently for his comments about UFC fighter pay, saying it was a good thing he has another job. He later apologized, but you can bet UFC President Dana White will be watching his performance closely to see how seriously he is taking his MMA career. White said that Kennedy should be a garbage man if he thinks he would live more comfortably that way, and there will likely be little patience with him if he does not prove he belongs in the organization against Gracie. Kennedy’s fighting strategy will be interesting to watch, as Gracie would seem to have an edge on the ground with his outstanding grappling skills and five submission wins. But Kennedy also has won eight bouts via submission to go along with five knockout wins. Gracie suffered his only career loss via KO at the hands of Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, and he is a very large middleweight at 6-foot-4, which is five inches taller than Kennedy. A five-inch reach advantage will be in Gracie’s favor as well, so he will need to do his best to use it.
