After ‘TUF Nations’ Finale Victory, Tim Kennedy Eyeing Munoz-Mousasi Winner

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Tim Kennedy is keeping it real in the wake of his win over Michael Bisping.

While Kennedy counts his win over Bisping as a truly important victory, the former Strikeforce title contender was nevertheless critical of his inability to end the fight inside the distance.

“I was really humbled to be in the main event against a perennial contender,” Kennedy said at the post-fight press conference following his victory at Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City. “I dominated Michael Bisping, a guy who’s been in the top five for forever. I’m just super disappointed that I didn’t finish him. That’s what I come here to do, always finish fights.”

Kennedy scored multiple takedowns throughout the middleweight main event of “The Ultimate Fighter Nations” finale, passing Bisping’s guard 11 times in total, according to Fightmetric.com.

“I moved to side control and mount a few times and got takedowns when I wanted them. I hit him with big shots,” said Kennedy. “It’s a big win -- the biggest of my career, but it didn’t put me where it should. That’s all on me. I just need another opportunity to get in there and show I deserve to be fighting with the best. This fight didn’t do what it was supposed to, which was [make people say], ‘This guy should be fighting for the title.’”

Kennedy’s win did come at a price, however, as the 34-year-old injured his right hand early in the fight. After the bout, the middleweight indicated that the appendage might be broken; Kennedy will undergo an X-ray tomorrow.

Although Kennedy’s critique of his own performance was unforgiving, he nevertheless took scores of 49-46 (twice) and 50-45 from the cage-side judges. The victory extends Kennedy’s current winning streak to four fights, with three of those wins coming inside the Octagon.

Just minutes removed from his triumph, Kennedy already set his sights on a new potential challenge.

“[I’d like to fight] Mark Munoz or [Gegard] Mousasi. They’re right around me [in the rankings] and have a fight coming up,” said Kennedy. “I want to put on big, explosive fights, and I’m on my way to doing that.”