Tim Kennedy will return to the UFC Octagon for the first time in over two years when he faced Rashad Evans at UFC 205.

Looking forward to a fan-friendly scrap with Rashad Evans

The No. 11 ranked middleweight has sat on the sidelines ever since his infamous bout at UFC 178 where he was defeated by Yoel Romero under controversial circumstances. Despite not having forgiven Romero or the UFC for letting events unfold as they did, Kennedy can’t wait to get back to work at Madison Square Garden, and believes the fight with Evans and will be a treat for the fans.

“I think we are going to be really tough for each other,” Kennedy told UFC Unfiltered. “We got a great opportunity to put on a fantastic fight. I’ve trained with him and he is a very well-rounded martial artist. He has great boxing, he has great wrestling, he has fantastic submission defense and he is a great veteran with a vast amount of experience. I think we match up well.

“Obviously, he’s not going to want to be on the ground with me. If I were him I’d try and sprawl and brawl my way to a win because I don’t think he can knock me out. There’s a lot of potential there for a fantastic fight. I think he under estimates my hands. As training partners, we aren’t blasting each other. I think he’s going to remember what I was like in the training room and not actually know what I’m like in a fight.”

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Fight then grab a seat and take it in

Kennedy versus Evans will likely be one of first few fights to take place in the Garden under the UFC banner. The American said it will be a proud night first competing and then taking in the rest of the fights sat at cageside.

“I’m excited because I get to fight early,” Kennedy said. “Here in Albuquerque my training times for my night time training, instead of being the main event when I’m having to train at like hell, 9, 10, 11pm at night. I get to train at 6pm so that’s awesome. Being in New York I’m going to be like the second or third fight of the night and then I’ll have cageside seats in MSG.

“I’ll be able to enjoy the first card in New York City at MSG and enjoy the biggest fight card in the UFC’s history and I will not only have competed in it, but I will then get to enjoy it in my home city.

Demian Maia is a treat

As a BJJ black belt under Royler Gracie, Kennedy said it was great to see a practitioner like Demian Maia showing everyone that it is one of the most dominant martial arts when utilized by a master.

“He’s a treat,” Kennedy said. “I know he’s in the twilight and perhaps needs one more fight in his career here [to get a title shot], but ever since he fought Anderson for belt he’s been this perennial contender and it’s going to be sad when he leaves. Hopefully, he’s going to win the title and then put jiu-jitsu back on the map the same way Lyoto did for Karate.”

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Don’t mention Romero…

While he had great things to say about the Brazilian, Kennedy wasn’t so kind with his words when it came to talking about a certain other middleweight—Yoel Romero.

“Look, I’ve got so many nice things to say about so many people, but Romero isn’t one of them,” Kennedy said. “From PEDs, from what he’s done in the cage to kicking guys in the balls, grabbing the cage, I’m just disappointed he gets to fight Chris Weidman ahead of the rest of the division.

“He’s a cheater and he cheated again,” Kennedy said talking about the Stoolgate drama. “He wasn’t saved by the bell, he cheated. I don’t remember in 16 years as a professional fighter ever seeing that happen in another fight. I’ve never see John McCarthy or a corner [let a guy] sit on a stool for 30 seconds, a minute after the fight restarted. It was unbelievable.

"It’s not even he should have been disqualified, it should have been ruled a TKO loss—that’s’ how the rules read. He wasn’t saved by the bell, he cheated. Those are two different things.”