After years of combat flexing, UFC vet Tim Kennedy admits lying\u00a0about stories, honors

USA Today

10-07-2025

Kennedy says he's been lying about a major aspect of the military experience he's been using as his calling card
After years of talking up his military service and accolades, Tim Kennedy now has admitted a big part of what he's been telling people has been a lie.
Kennedy, who hasn't fought in nearly nine years and ended his career with back-to-back knockout losses at UFC 178 and UFC 206, posted on social media Tuesday to say the Bronze Star with Valor he has been saying he was awarded for his time in the Army is not true, and that he has "misstated" other aspects of his time in the military.
Kennedy, often called on as a talking head on right-wing, conspiracy theory-driven dog whistle entertainment channels like Fox News, made his post after months of criticism and fact-finding from a segment of fellow former military servicepeople.
Kennedy said his lies about his service and honors are "a serious mistake." He admitted he spent "years" repeating the lies publicly and in interviews, but said all the times he did it he "unintentionally misstated aspects" of his service.
Kennedy said he lied about receiving a Bronze Star with Valor – a claim he once denied he ever made, though he has made the claim repeatedly and admittedly for "years" – and that "I deeply regret ever suggesting otherwise."
Kennedy, who is 45, used his post to try to deflect some of the blame for his actions on being "young when I stepped into the public eye," but said he "should have known better." The bulk of Kennedy's public talk about his military service, or his claimed military service, came after he was brought into the UFC through the Strikeforce merger in 2013. His five fights in the UFC, in which he went 3-2 before his retirement after 2016, were all in his mid-30s.
In 2022, when he was in his 40s, Kennedy's memoir "Scars and Stripes: An Unapologetically American Story of Fighting the Taliban, UFC Warriors, and Myself" was published. In its 400+ pages, he tells stories that now certainly will be called into question about their legitimacy.
Kennedy only specifically addressed the Bronze Star lie in his "misstated aspects," but his most vocal critics have pointed to many other inaccuracies between what he has claimed in interviews – including the story he once told about exactly how and why he was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor that he never was awarded – as well as how many times he actually was deployed.
Kennedy said the apology is a new beginning for him and he is "committed to rebuilding trust through honest reflection, visible accountability, and ongoing service to the community I misrepresented myself to."
Whether that community will accept him back is another question entirely.
Kennedy's statement on social media:
"I want to take full and unequivocal responsibility for a serious mistake.
Over the years, I made public statements and gave interviews in which I unintentionally misstated aspects of my military service. Most notably, I implied directly or indirectly that I had been awarded the Bronze Star with Valor. That is not true, and there is no excuse for it. I never received that honor, and I deeply regret ever suggesting otherwise.
That kind of recognition is sacred. It represents extraordinary courage under fire acts that risk or cost lives. To those who truly earned it, and to their families and brothers-in-arms, I offer my sincere and direct apology. What I said disrespected your service, and I take full ownership of that.
I was young when I stepped into the public eye, and while I wasn't prepared for the scrutiny or pressure that came with it, that doesn't absolve me. I should have known better. Integrity is not situational, and I failed to uphold the standards I claimed to represent.
To the military and veteran community, especially those who've served in combat or lost people they love. I am deeply sorry. I know I've let many of you down. You had every right to expect more from me, and I didn't live up to that.
This apology is not the end, it's the beginning. I am committed to rebuilding trust through honest reflection, visible accountability, and ongoing service to the community I misrepresented myself to. I will no longer speak about my service in a way that elevates me beyond what I actually did. From now on, my words will be guided by truth, humility, and respect.
I understand that words alone don't heal disappointment or restore trust. Only time and action will.
Thank you to those who have held me accountable. I will do my best to honor that accountability from this point forward.
-Tim Kennedy"