October 24, 2020 at 4:45 a.m.
Kenney to fight tonight
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Kenney to fight tonight
Casey Kenney is no stranger to getting ready quickly.
For the fourth time in his professional career, the 2009 Jay County High School graduate will fight on short notice tonight as he takes on Nathaniel Wood as part of UFC 254 from “Fight Island” — Flash Forum, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The fight is the second on the preliminary card, which begins at noon today on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Kenney (15-2-1) is stepping back into the octagon just three weeks after battering Heili Alateng with kicks to the right torso for a unanimous decision victory, also on Fight Island. Wood (17-4), on the other hand, has had three months off since defeating John Castaneda by unanimous decision July 25. It will be a catchweight bout at 140 pounds as compared to Kenney’s usual bantamweight class (135 pounds).
Both fighters are 4-1 in UFC. Kenney’s lone loss came Feb. 15 by unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili, who is now ranked 13th in the bantamweight division. Wood lost by technical knockout on the same card to John Dodson, who went on to lose to Dvalishvili Aug. 15.
UFC statistics show Wood, a 5-foot, 6-inch, competitor from the United Kingdom, prefers to stand up and swing, with 75 percent of his significant strikes coming from the standing position. He has nine career knockouts.
Seventy-one percent of Kenney’s significant strikes have come from the standing position, though that number went up thanks to his domination of Alateng. All of his 109 significant strikes in that victory came from the standing position.
Kenney’s history of short-notice fights is strong.
His UFC debut — a unanimous decision win over Ray Borg — came just eight days after he beat Vince Cachero for the Legacy Fighting Alliance bantamweight title. Then, he had just 10 days notice before stepping into the cage May 30 against Louis Smolka, who he beat by first-round submission.
Kenney, who is a minus-170 betting favorite to win the fight, also had just six weeks between his two appearances in Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series in 2017.
For the fourth time in his professional career, the 2009 Jay County High School graduate will fight on short notice tonight as he takes on Nathaniel Wood as part of UFC 254 from “Fight Island” — Flash Forum, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The fight is the second on the preliminary card, which begins at noon today on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Kenney (15-2-1) is stepping back into the octagon just three weeks after battering Heili Alateng with kicks to the right torso for a unanimous decision victory, also on Fight Island. Wood (17-4), on the other hand, has had three months off since defeating John Castaneda by unanimous decision July 25. It will be a catchweight bout at 140 pounds as compared to Kenney’s usual bantamweight class (135 pounds).
Both fighters are 4-1 in UFC. Kenney’s lone loss came Feb. 15 by unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili, who is now ranked 13th in the bantamweight division. Wood lost by technical knockout on the same card to John Dodson, who went on to lose to Dvalishvili Aug. 15.
UFC statistics show Wood, a 5-foot, 6-inch, competitor from the United Kingdom, prefers to stand up and swing, with 75 percent of his significant strikes coming from the standing position. He has nine career knockouts.
Seventy-one percent of Kenney’s significant strikes have come from the standing position, though that number went up thanks to his domination of Alateng. All of his 109 significant strikes in that victory came from the standing position.
Kenney’s history of short-notice fights is strong.
His UFC debut — a unanimous decision win over Ray Borg — came just eight days after he beat Vince Cachero for the Legacy Fighting Alliance bantamweight title. Then, he had just 10 days notice before stepping into the cage May 30 against Louis Smolka, who he beat by first-round submission.
Kenney, who is a minus-170 betting favorite to win the fight, also had just six weeks between his two appearances in Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series in 2017.
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