Tim Kennedy
Kennedy grew up the second son of three children in a Christian family in Atascadero, California. He is of Irish descent. As a youth, Kennedy's mother placed him in cooking and piano lessons. To offset her influence on him, Kennedy's father enrolled Tim and his brother in shooting schools, boxing lessons, wrestling teams, and Japanese ju-jitsu classes. Kennedy attended Eagle Academy private high school, graduating in 1998. He then attended Columbia College of Missouri, earning a B.A. in criminal justice in 2002. Kennedy began competing in sanctioned mixed martial arts fights while still in college, but after graduation he enlisted in the United States Army, joining the elite Special Forces in 2004. However, he continued to compete in MMA while serving as a Green Beret. When the Army instituted a service-wide Combatives (hand-to-hand fighting) tournament in 2005, Kennedy entered and won the tournament in the Light Heavyweight division. He achieved this goal three years in a row.
Kennedy grew up the second son of three children in a Christian family in Atascadero, California. He is of Irish descent. As a youth, Kennedy's mother placed him in cooking and piano lessons. To offset her influence on him, Kennedy's father enrolled Tim and his brother in shooting schools, boxing lessons, wrestling teams, and Japanese ju-jitsu classes. Kennedy attended Eagle Academy private high school, graduating in 1998. He then attended Columbia College of Missouri, earning a B.A. in criminal justice in 2002. Kennedy began competing in sanctioned mixed martial arts fights while still in college, but after graduation he enlisted in the United States Army, joining the elite Special Forces in 2004. However, he continued to compete in MMA while serving as a Green Beret. When the Army instituted a service-wide Combatives (hand-to-hand fighting) tournament in 2005, Kennedy entered and won the tournament in the Light Heavyweight division. He achieved this goal three years in a row.
