Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White once suggested that nobody gave a shit about Tim Kennedy, and that the former Army Ranger should go be a garbage man and earn a decent living (see those comments here).
A lot has changed in a year.
While they aren't exactly bromantic, White did have some complimentary things to say about Kennedy's gameplan in last night's (April 16, 2014) main event win over Michael Bisping on FOX Sports 1 (results), a "dominant performance" that controlled four of the five headlining rounds.
From The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): "Nations" post-fight media scrum (watch it):
"Kennedy did exactly what he said. Bisping wouldn't throw any punches because he didn't want to get taken down again. He didn't realize how dominant (Kennedy) was gonna be on the ground. It was a classic example of what happens when a guy gets taken down and has great jiu-jitsu like that. It's gonna clam a guy up and he's gonna get gun shy and not throw punches. It wasn't a crowd-pleaser, not a fight where people at home are going 'woo hoo, this is awesome,' but the guy put on a pretty dominant performance. (Bisping) got dominated."
Watch highlights of "Bisping vs. Kennedy" here.
Kennedy improves to 3-0 inside the Octagon since crossing over from Strikeforce and will likely earn himself another top 10 opponent later this year. But will he continue to be "dominant" when faced with another stifling wrestler, or perhaps a familiar face like Luke Rockhold or Jacare Souza?
Time will tell.