NEWS PHOTO SEAN ROONEY Jared Kilkenny (right) and Pietro de Andrade spar at Southern Alberta Combative Arts Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. De Andrade improved to 6-0 in his kickboxing career recently, winning a unanimous decision over Winnipeg’s Alexis Findlay. Kilkenny couldn't get the same result in his recent match.
Jared Kilkenny isn’t just excited about what’s next for him: He’s excited for the guy he’s been training with, too.
The 37-year-old professional MMA fighter moved here from Lethbridge last year, and has started coaching the next generation even as his own big opportunity looms.
“The culture’s slowly starting to develop here,” Kilkenny said this week while training for tonight’s Unified MMA 38 card in Edmonton. “Between the team I have here (at Southern Alberta Combative Arts) and at Temple Fitness… the pieces are coming together.”
At 6-foot-5 and 244 pounds, Kilkenny has a 13-10 record as a pro and is in the main event at the River Cree Resort and Casino against fellow Albertan Chris Larsen. It’s a heavyweight title fight and a rematch of their 2017 meeting at Unified MMA 31, which Kilkenny won with a first round knockout.
He’s glad to give Larsen another shot, and a win could catapult him into some other opportunities around the world.
But while he’s here – he and his wife moved to manage a retirement village last fall – Kilkenny has found some burgeoning athletes who just need the right help to take the next step.
Enter Pietro de Andrade, the 6-foot-7 college basketball player-turned kickboxer who’s getting a title shot of his own next weekend in Calgary.
“Jared, that guy has helped me so much,” said de Andrade, following an in-ring session with Kilkenny at SACA Tuesday night. “He’s very knowledgeable about fighting, a professional fighter. It’s just learning every day from him.”
De Andrade, 5-0 in his amateur career which only began two years ago, is up for a World Association of Kickboxing Organizations heavyweight belt against a fighter from Winnipeg.
Because of their similar stature, de Andrade and Kilkenny have helped each other get ready for their respective fights.
“It’s been a great fit,” said Kilkenny, noting another heavyweight from Maple Creek has been joining them as well. “So as much as they’re appreciative of having an old fart like me around, it’s nice to be the small guy in the room.”
The experience that old fart has could certainly shape the relative newcomer’s future in combat sports as well. Kilkenny was also once a college basketball player, posting up for Grant MacEwan nearly two decades ago, and is encouraging de Andrade to keep at it.
Getting involved at the grassroots level has also been a blessing for the veteran fighter.
“To be able to be here and have those young talents, whether it’s Pietro or little young Diesel who’s in Grade 7 at St. Mary’s, he’s got world championship material,” said Kilkenny. “It gives you purpose, a reason to not get out of shape and keep your nose in the game.”
