It was a strong night for Team Canada at Bellator 272. First, Josh Hill knocked out Jared Scoggins, earning himself an alternate spot in the upcoming bantamweight grand prix. Then British Columbia’s Jeremy Kennedy went three rounds with former title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez, picking up a unanimous decision win in the process.
A win over Sanchez should leave Kennedy (17-3, 1NC) in a good spot inside Bellator’s featherweight division. “I think there’s a lot of dust needs to be settled at the top of the division. He was ranked fourth, that has to put me up there,” Kennedy told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. “I didn’t like being ranked ninth, it left a little sour taste in my mouth. I feel like finally I’ll get that respect I deserved.”
Kennedy knows that with 30-27 scores, the win wasn’t quite the spectacular show he wanted to put on. He also knew that he needed to win first and foremost. “I needed to get this W. 30-27, dominated him.”
Looking forward, Kennedy now has one specific name in mind.
“The fight that’s on my mind is Pedro Carvalho,” Kennedy revealed. That’s an opponent he has called out before. “That guy, we’ve been talking back-and-forth, and he’s just trying to big-time me. He was coming off of back-to-back losses, and he’s just won now so it makes sense. But at the time, the way he was trying to handle it— it was a friendly callout to start it all, and then just the way he dealt with it was kind of a sour taste. I couldn’t wait to get my job done, just so— that’s the one I want.”
Watch the full Bellator 272 post-fight press conference with Jeremy Kennedy above. More coverage from the event can be found below.
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Sergio Pettis
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Spike Carlyle
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Jeremy Kennedy
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Josh Hill
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Kai Kamaka III
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Scott Coker
