Tim Kennedy Says Gastelum and Alves Have Disrespected the Fans

Tim Kennedy Says Gastelum and Alves Have Disrespected the Fans

UFC middleweight Tim Kennedy blasts fighters who didn't make weight for UFC 205.

Nov 11, 2016 by Jim Edwards
Tim Kennedy Says Gastelum and Alves Have Disrespected the Fans
What a crazy morning of drama at the UFC 205 early weigh-ins.

Fighters missing weight, fights cancelled, and just top it off Jacare Souza appearing out nowhere, weighing in at 189 pounds, and not even a mention to those gathered in attendance what it was all about.

One man who did take to the scale this morning despites his fight being cancelled earlier week was Tim Kennedy.

After clocking in on weight, Kennedy spoke to guys at Submission Radio and gave his own candid thoughts on Kelvin Gastelum's issues making weight and subsequent fight cancellation.

"It's so disrespectful," Kennedy said. "I mean, it's so unprofessional. I can't even process what's going through somebody's head to make a choice -- and they're choices -- about not making weight. Leading up to the fight, it's what you're eating, it's how hard you're training, your caloric intake, how much you're burning. These are all literal choices that an athlete makes. That is a lazy, disrespectful asshole that's doing that. It's disrespectful to your opponent, it's disrespectful to the fan.


"That's Kelvin Gastelum and Thiago (Alves) saying, 'I don't care about the fans.' That's what they're doing. They don't care about the sport, they don't care about their integrity -- because that's what it is. I signed a contract that on this day, this Friday, I will step on the scale and weigh 'this.' That's what it says in the contract -- and in return you'll pay me. That's the point in being a prize fighter. So now they're breaking their word, they're breaking their contract and they're disrespecting their opponent -- but worst of all, they're saying 'f**k you' to the fans."

If you thought Kennedy was finished there, you would be mistaken.

"That's unbelievable," Kennedy said. "In 16 years as a professional athlete, with making weight over 200 times, I've never missed weight. Because I'm not going to do that to the fans, I'm not going to do that to my opponent, but most importantly, I understand what integrity means and I signed a contract and I gave my word that this is what's going to happen.

"I feel horrible for my teammate, Cowboy. I mean, we sweat, we bled, we busted our asses together out at the ranch. You can't imagine what we poured into these fights to be here at Madison Square Garden, to be here in New York, to be part of UFC 205, and then it disintegrated for me in a different way that it did for Cowboy -- both of which are just… it's painful. My heart goes out to Cowboy right now. On the Thiago and Kelvin thing, I mean, come on, guys. Bad form."