Kenney to meet former champ

Casey Kenney wants to stand atop the bantamweight division.

He sees no better way than to go through someone who has been there before.

Kenney, a 2009 Jay County High School graduate, is heading into the biggest fight of his career tonight as he takes on former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz during UFC 259 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“This is a fight I’ve been working for,” said Kenney. “It’s why I got into the sport, to fight guys like this. Ultimately, I want to become champion of the UFC. This is the exact position I want to be in. Knocking off a former champion is exactly what people want to see when they talk about you fighting for a title. So, here we are.”

The Kenney/Cruz fight will be part of the preliminary card, which begins at 8 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN+. The main card features three title bouts, including Petr Yan putting the bantamweight title on the line against No. 1 contender Aljamain Sterling. Jan Blachowicz will defend his light heavyweight title against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in the main event.

Cruz is the type of opponent for whom Kenney has been waiting.

The 35-year-old from San Diego was UFC’s first bantamweight champion, being awarded the title after defeating Scott Jorgensen in 2010. He vacated the title just over three years later because of injuries, but captured it again with a split decision win over TJ Dillashaw in January 2016.

He lost the title to Cody Garbrandt in his first defense before going on a hiatus of nearly three and a half years as injuries derailed several planned bouts. He returned to try to reclaim the title in May 2020, but lost to Henry Cejudo by technical knockout.

Sporting a 22-3 career record, all of Cruz’s losses thus far have come with the UFC bantamweight title on the line.

Kenney was nothing but complimentary of the former champion, noting his style of switching stances, keeping his hands down, using a lot of head movement and applying pressure in addition to possessing excellent stamina.

Though he said he’s thought about the various ways he could beat the veteran, he believes the fight may come down to the mental game and being prepared to go the full 15 minutes.

“I’ve been training for a long time, pretty much preparing for this moment. … I think a little bit of patience is going to be the key to this fight,” he said. “We’ve all got fast kicks, hands, knees, can grapple really well. … He’s well-rounded, very skilled in every aspect. So I think … the mental warfare and patience is going to be key to beating him.”

Though Cruz brings the pedigree, Kenney is a slight betting favorite to win the fight.

The two-time wrestling state medalist for Jay County owns a 5-1 UFC record and is riding a three-fight winning streak. He finished Louis Smolka with a guillotine choke in May and then won a pair of October bouts on Fight Island, topping Heili Alateng and Nathaniel Wood each by unanimous decision.

He had targeted a return to the octagon in mid-December and even had the contract drawn up for one more fight in 2020. But, it fell through. Looking back, he said that was probably a blessing as it allowed time for his body to recover after a punishing fight against Wood and to get in a full camp heading into the bout against Cruz.

Kenney’s lone UFC loss was by unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili, who is now ranked 12th in the division. Cruz is No. 11.

“He’s a former champion, considered one of the greatest of the division,” said Kenney, noting the opportunity to bump himself up the UFC charts. “Not necessarily a title shot off of this, but it definitely heads me in the right direction.

“It’s everything. It’s a surreal moment. But it feels like any other fight week, any other fight. That’s the mentality that I’m approaching it with inside the octagon. … This will be my 20th professional bout. … It is a big step in my career and it feels great, but really it feels like any other fight. That’s the mentality and how I want it to feel in there.”