Podcast call-out leads to fight for B.C. featherweight, Kennedy
UFC fights can start in all sorts of places. For Canadian featherweight Jeremy (JBC) Kennedy, the seed for Saturday’s showdown with Kyle (Crash) Bochniak was planted in a podcast.
Bochniak (7-1-0) got the ball rolling when he suggested Kennedy would be an interesting opponent.
“He’s a good candidate, he’s 2-0 in the UFC. We’ll see who’s the real prospect,” the American told the UFC Fan Page podcast on April 23. “That fight makes a lot of sense.”
The matchup got some more traction on social media, with Bochniak fuelling the fire.
“Get off your knees @JeremyKennedyWC If we get matched up, I’ll dig your grave for free,” he tweeted.
Kennedy (10-0-0) took up the challenge: “You should get down on your knees and be grateful I’m even interested in this matchup. You’re 0-2 in the @ufc.”
Bochniak, 30, is actually 1-1 in the UFC but the win, over Enrique Barzola last August, was via split decision.
Kennedy guested on the next edition of the podcast May 9, offering his take on Bochniak’s brash challenge.
“That’s easy money. I would love to give him a beating,” said the 24-year-old from Surrey.
The social media to-and-fro continued, with MMA media and ultimately the UFC itself taking notice. The bout was announced on May 24. “Let the madness begin!” tweeted Bochniak.
The talk ends Saturday night when the two 145-pounders meet on the undercard of a televised card in Uniondale, N.Y.
Former middleweight champion Chris Weidman faces Kelvin Gastelum in the main event at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Weidman (13-3-0) is now ranked fifth among 185-pound contenders, while Gastelum (14-2-0) is No. 8.
Kennedy says while he has no problem with being called out, he was no fan of some of the trash-talking that ensued.
“I’ve got to get used to that,” he said. “It bugs me to an extent, but now that the fight’s signed and I’m ready to go, I’m excited about it.”
Kennedy proved he had a cool head last time out in March when he braved a hostile crowd in Fortaleza, Brazil, to win a unanimous decision over local boy Rony Jason.
Kennedy won his UFC debut in Vancouver last August when, fighting as a lightweight, he beat Alessandro Ricci of Woodbridge, Ont., by decision.
Fighting out of Boston, Bochniak will be bringing some supporters to suburban New York.