Featherweight MMA Fighter Jeremy Kennedy’s Lifestyle Makes Him a Success

Jeremy Kennedy plays the same entrance music every time, and it brings him back to the last time he was there, to that last fight. It’s his way of getting into the zone. The 25-year-old mixed martial artist has an undefeated record of 11-0, and is also undefeated in three UFC fights. It has taken absolute dedication to get him to this point. “I eat, sleep, breathe this, my diet never changes year-round . . . I make sure I’m at the gym at least twice a day.”

There’s a hunger to Jeremy, and a sheer focus to the way he lives his life, which is all part of the goal of being at the top of the game. For Jeremy, he doesn’t have the fear of losing—his fear is of not performing. He should be walking into the cage with no doubts in his mind of how hard he’s trained or whether his diet could have been better. He lives by the idea that if you do the work, then any losses should be a “guilt-free loss”.

Jeremy was first introduced to jiu-jitsu at 13 years old. Jiu-jitsu led to wrestling, which then led to boxing, and before long, he combined them all and fell in love with mixed martial arts at 16. For Jeremy, it has always been the aspect of individual sport that captured his love; he doesn’t have to rely on anyone but himself. The way he sees it, the work he puts in is the results he gets out. It’s with this determination that Jeremy made his way up the amateur fighter ranks, and found himself headlining all the regional shows. So when UFC returned to Vancouver in August of 2018, Jeremy had a good chance to be picked as local talent and put on the undercard – it was a promotional debut that saw him win the fight against opponent Alessandro Ricci by unanimous decision, and begin his UFC journey.

In a career where you’re relying on your body to provide for yourself, knowing when to train and when to take it easy are part of the challenges. Jeremy sees a massage therapist, two different chiropractors, and a physiotherapist; they’re a huge part of his recovery and wellness. “Recovery is half the battle because if you’re not healthy, you’re not fighting, and if you’re not fighting, you’re not providing, and you’re not advancing in your career.” In the months leading up to a fight, Jeremy ramps up his training, he’s on a hard diet, and he’s training through little injuries. “You’re not going to pull out because you have a pulled muscle or a little fracture on your toe, it’s something you’re going to be training through.”

When you love what you’re doing as much as Jeremy, it’s easy motivation. The best advice he can give is that martial arts is a lifestyle, and you’ve got to live it to succeed. Jeremy has a constant drive, every single day, to get better at what he does. For him, there’s never a point where you know everything; you never stop learning. “You want to keep getting a percent better, a percent better, there is no 100%, because it just keeps going.”

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