Tim Kennedy can’t sit still.
The Special Forces Sgt. 1st Class is fighting Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 206 this weekend but that’s only one of a myriad of things that keeps him busy.
Since moving from active duty to the Texas Army National Guard in 2010, Kennedy has become one of the most high-profile veterans with a full resume of entertainment and business accomplishments.
You may recognize Kennedy from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but he’s also made a name for himself on the hugely successful HISTORY TV show “Hunting Hitler.” Kennedy is the host and treks throughout South America poking and prodding in the nooks and crannies of the continent for proof that German WWII criminals fled and potentially lived out their lives in secrecy there.
He also hosted The Triumph Games where wounded warriors compete for $50,000 cash prize on CBS Sports.
Is this going to be a trend? Are we going to see more of Tim Kennedy on our TVs?
“Yes,” Kennedy told WATM. “I like hosting TV shows so I’m going to do it more often. I get a lot out of it and hosting the Triumph Games was really rewarding. I will always train myself year round but I’ll take sabbaticals to host TV shows when I get the chance.”
Kennedy isn’t just on the small screen. He had a big role in the veteran-funded cult classic movie, Range 15 — both in front of and behind the camera.
“Range 15 is a comedic war movie in a post apocalyptic world where military degenerates wake up from a night of debauchery to find the zombie apocalypse has happened and the only thing that can save it is these losers,” he says chuckling.
Range 15 was a collaboration between Ranger Up (which Kennedy co-owns) and Article 15, two veteran-run apparel companies who challenged the Hollywood mold and made a major motion picture funded largely by veterans.
Though competitors, the founders of each company set their differences aside and launched an Indiegogo campaign that raised over $1 million.
They then opened up the roles of zombie extras to veterans and got major Hollywood backing when Danny Trejo and William Shatner made cameo appearances.
“The zombie extras didn’t have all their limbs because many of them were blown off in combat,” Kennedy says. “It was so special to make this movie. Such an amazing experience. Range 15 could not have been a success without the help and support of the veteran community. Period.”
Besides entertainment and apparel, Kennedy also runs a defense tactics company called Sheepdog Response that he formed after running a seminar in Oklahoma. During that first seminar to law enforcement personnel, Kennedy noticed most everyone was good at one thing — either shooting or combatives — but rarely both.
So he launched Sheepdog Response to reshape America.
“We’ve gotten soft and become a nation without fangs,” Kennedy says. “Sheepdogs protect the prey from the wolves and that’s what we’re doing. We’re giving people the skills to be the hardest person to kill.”
Kennedy himself is probably one of the hardest people to kill. Despite all his business and entertainment endeavors, Kennedy is still an Army NCO and deploys as part of a Special Operations Detachment for Africa from the Texas National Guard. His next reenlistment is up in 2017. Will he stay in the National Guard?
“There’s a good chance I’ll reenlist. I have a lot going on, but I still have a heart that bleeds green,” he says. “I don’t know that I can live without being part of the greatest fighting force on the planet.”
On Dec. 10 Kennedy will face Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 206 in Toronto, which is a last minute change. He was previously scheduled to fight former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans at UFC 205 in New York City, but Evans couldn’t get cleared by the athletic commission.
But if anyone is prepared for change, it’s Kennedy.
“It’s a great matchup. He’s a very tough, young kid with a lot of talent, but not the most discipline,” Kennedy says. “He misses weight a lot, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t hit hard and is one hell of a fighter.”
“I have to be the best me to win this fight but I’m definitely ready.”