Casey Kenney

Overview

Eight UFC fights, seven of them decided on the scorecards. Casey Kenney is a bantamweight who has spent his UFC run in three-round decisions, and he comes into his next fight on a two-fight losing streak.

His UFC record is 5-3, with one finish: a first-round submission of Louis Smolka. Four more wins came by unanimous decision. All three losses were decisions too, and two of them were splits. He has never been knocked out or submitted in the UFC.

His 16-4-1 professional record covers all promotions, not just the UFC.

UFC Career

Kenney's path started on Dana White's Contender Series. In July 2017 he beat CJ Hamilton by unanimous decision, then lost a split decision to Adam Antolin that August. Both fights went the full three rounds, and neither counts toward his UFC record.

His UFC debut came in March 2019 against Ray Borg at UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Gaethje, and he won a unanimous decision. Five months later at UFC 241 he did the same against Manny Bermudez, whom our model rates as a strong opponent.

Then came a loss to Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision in February 2020. Kenney answered with his best stretch. He submitted Smolka in 3:03 of the first round in May 2020, beat Alatengheili by decision in October, and three weeks later took a unanimous decision over Nathaniel Wood at UFC 254. That made three straight wins, his longest streak, and Wood was another strong opponent.

The run ended with two split-decision losses, to Dominick Cruz at UFC 259 and Song Yadong at UFC 265. Yadong was a strong opponent as well.

Two fights lost by split decision is a close margin, and it's a small sample. Still, it's two losses in a row.

Fighting Style

Kenney is a busy southpaw striker who is hard to hit. He lands far more strikes per minute than the UFC average and defends strikes better than most, though he still absorbs more per minute than average. His striking accuracy sits around that average.

Grappling isn't his game plan. He attempts fewer takedowns and fewer submissions than most UFC fighters, but he defends takedowns better than most. So the Smolka submission is his only finish, not a pattern. He has gone the distance in seven of his eight UFC fights.

Notable Wins

• Louis Smolka — submission, round 1 (3:03), UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Burns (2020)
• Nathaniel Wood — unanimous decision, UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje (2020)
• Manny Bermudez — unanimous decision, UFC 241: Cormier vs. Miocic 2 (2019)
• Ray Borg — unanimous decision, UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Gaethje (2019)

Quick Facts

• Division: Bantamweight
• UFC record: 5-3
• Professional record (all promotions): 16-4-1
• UFC debut: 2019 (Contender Series appearances in 2017)
• Stance: Southpaw
• Height: 5'7"
• Reach: 70"
• Born: Portland, United States