Tim Kennedy’s loss to Yoel Romero in September of 2014 came under highly controversial circumstances, with Romero getting much more than a minute in between the second and third rounds after nearly getting stopped in the second, and Kennedy’s been quite disgruntled with the game since then.
The 14-year-vet has been in no rush to return due to how that bout played out, as he felt Romero cheated on more than one occasion, with the between-round shenanigans after the second simply being the most egregious. He’s feeling a bit of added justification for those thoughts with Tuesday’s news that Romero violated the UFC and USADA anti-doping policy in an out of competition drug test, and he’s been taking jabs directly at Romero on Twitter since the news broke.
@YoelRomeroMMA hey buddy. Did Jesus tell you to use steroids?
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) January 13, 2016
@YoelRomeroMMA FYI Gay Jesus isn’t ok with #PEDs
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) January 13, 2016
@YoelRomeroMMA bummer you weren’t tested for our fight. Is that why you needed the stool?
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) January 13, 2016
@YoelRomeroMMA grabbing the cage, kicks to the groin, long breaks between rounds, PEDs, not sure if there are any ways left for you to cheat
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) January 13, 2016
@YoelRomeroMMA hey bro I’m in the market for some anabolic steroids you got any extra?
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) January 13, 2016
Kennedy also found some solidarity with Michael Bisping, another fighter who has maintained status as a clean fighter against a veritable sea of PED-using opponents, and Derek Brunson, who himself suffered a loss to Romero and questioned the validity of that defeat given this news.
@bisping crazy to think about all the dudes we have beat while we were clean. Hat is off to you.
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) January 13, 2016
@DerekBrunson he was 100% cheating when he fought you. I was there.
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) January 13, 2016
Penick’s Analysis: Some may take the response as petty, and there’s something to that line of criticism, but it’s certainly not undeserved. Kennedy has every right to feel the way he does about his fight with Romero, and Romero here certainly has earned that scorn. Given the between-round stuff in the Kennedy fight, along with cage grabbing and eye gouging against Jacare Souza, Romero’s made himself an easy and understandable target with this violation.
[Photo (c) Stephen R. Sylvanie via USA Today Sports]
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