Casey Kenney came into UFC Philadelphia on six days’ notice to upset the former flyweight title-challenger. A tough bout for both men, but Kenney got the decision win. Casey Kenney comes into UFC Philadelphia having fought for LFA just last Friday, winning their interim bantamweight title and becoming a two-division champion. Kenney is 11-1-1 in his career and fought on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series twice in 2017, going 1-1. The Indiana native has won his last four fights under the LFA banner. Ray Borg was first set to fight Pingyuan Liu, then Kyler Phillips, and now Casey Kenney. It’s been a busy road for Borg ahead of UFC Philadelphia. On top of the opponent switches, he’s had to take care of his infant son, who was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and required brain surgery. Borg has not fought since his title shot in 2017, when he suffered the third loss of his career. This will be Borg’s first fight at bantamweight in his career. He missed weight yesterday, coming in at 137 pounds. Both men touch gloves to kick off the action. Kenney starts off with throwing a leg kick. Borg pressuring early but Kenney is getting active early, mixing up kicks before Borg attempts a takedown. Borg pushes Kenney against the fence and actively searches for a takedown. Kenney turns Borg around and his landing knees. Kenney takes down Borg with a trip. Borg looking to transition back to full guard but Kenney maintains half guard. Borg searching for a kimura but Kenney defends well. Kenney takes the back of Borg and is looking for a rear-naked choke. Borg explodes out and looks for his own takedown. Kenney landed a nice elbow to defend the takedown. Borg now gets his own takedown but Kenney gets up and is now looking for a takedown. Kenney has control of Borg’s back again but ends up on bottom to end the round due to a scramble. Cageside Press Scored the First Round 10-9 Kenney Action kicks off again and Borg is going for a takedown again. Kenney defends initially but his back is against the fence. Borg still pressing for the takedown but Kenney defends well and now looks for his own takedown. Borg quickly circles off and manages to take Kenney down. Borg takes the back and is looking for the choke. Kenney shakes Borg off his back and is now on top of Borg. Kenney is landing short ground-and-pound. Borg gets up but Kenney lands a nice knee inside. Grinding matchup so far as both men exchange positions on the fence. They break for a second and Borg lands a nice right hand. Borg takes the back after landing another takedown attempt but Kenney ends the round on top. Cageside Press Scored the Second Round 10-9 Borg Kenney pressing early on the feet landing kicks. Borg runs in and gets a body lock takedown. Borg looking for the back again but Kenney defends well and is landing knees in the clinch. Both men are tired but Borg manages to lock his hands and get him down. Borg is on Kenney’s back again but Kenney gets on top again. Kenney is looking for a rear-naked choke against the fence but Borg gets out and is looking for his own takedown again. Borg gets him down but Kenney is back up. They break away as Kenney presses forward and both men trade to end the round. Good showing from both men. Cageside Press Scored the Third Round 10-9 Borg (29-28 Borg) Casey Kenney def. Ray Borg by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)<doc-sep>EDMONTON, AB - SEPTEMBER 06: Ray Borg speaks to the media during the UFC 215 Ultimate Media Day at Rogers Place on September 6, 2017 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) At UFC Philadelphia, Ray Borg was set to return to the Octagon to take on Casey Kenney. The former flyweight moving up to bantamweight hadn’t fought since his loss to Demetrious Johnson for the belt in October 2017. Borg had gone through a rough year and a half. His son has needed multiple surgeries. Borg, himself, has had multiple injuries and fights kept on falling out. To make matters worse, Borg then missed weight and was fined 30% of his purse, which he says he needs to support his family. On top of that, Borg was winning the fight between him and UFC newcomer, Casey Kenney. Many fans and media alike scored the fight in favor of Borg, but when the scorecards were read, that is not what happened. Instead, Kenney won a unanimous decision. Meaning, the former flyweight was not going to get his win bonus either. A tough year and a half kept on getting worse for the former title challenger. Ultimately, Borg was visibly upset in the Octagon and issued a heartfelt statement on Instagram. “Words can’t explain my emotions right now, I am not a biased man and I can admit when I’m wrong but I am at a loss for words on how I lost that fight. I left it all out there for my boy and got hosed. Anyone who has followed my story knows my family needed this and it hurts to know it was taken from me. There was no issues with the weight but there was some outside variables on the night before weigh-ins that will soon come out for your better understanding. But no excuses I gave it my all and I thank you all for the love and support, you all mean the world me. Thank you for the support.” – Ray Borg on Instagram Cole Shelton Cole Shelton covers MMA for BJPenn.com, MMANews, and MyMMANews.com while also being the lead MMA odds writer for Sports Betting Dime See author's posts<doc-sep>Casey Kenney: Ray Borg’s ‘in a world of trouble’ at UFC on ESPN 2 Prior to his victory over Vince Cachero at LFA 62 on March 22, bantamweight Casey Kenney had stated how he was looking to make the move to the UFC, but he could not have anticipated just how quickly he’d be making taking that step. Shortly following the win against Cachero, Kenney was offered a short-notice fight to take place less than a week later. It was an opportunity too good for him to pass up, even if he had just fought the week previous. “Basically I got contacted and they asked if I wanted to make my UFC debut this weekend,” Kenney told MMAWeekly.com. “I didn’t take much damage in that last fight. I felt great, it was only like a minute and a half, so I was like, ‘let’s do it,’ and we got stuff together and here I am. I was on the plane the next morning. “It’s wild. I thought taking the title fight on two weeks’ notice was going to be the craziest thing I had done, but I stepped it up a notch here. This is what I like to do. I like to fight. I like to compete. I’ve been asking for all of this and here it is.” One of the reasons why Kenney was able to take both of his March fights on short notice was a move up from flyweight to bantamweight, which facilitated an easier way to make weight. “With this move to bantamweight, the 10lbs that I don’t have to cut as well, that would have been the main factor at flyweight,” said Kenney. “It’s been a weight cut, but it’s definitely manageable in back-to-back weekends.” This Saturday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kenney (11-1-1) will make his promotional debut against Ray Borg (11-3) in a preliminary 135-pound bout at UFC on ESPN 2. TRENDING > Jon Jones vs. Thiago Santos, Amanda Nunes vs. Holly Holm headlines UFC 239 in July “He’s a grappling-based guy and that’s right up my alley,” Kenney said of Borg. “I think I’m a lot more dynamic and dangerous on my feet. I think he’s in a world of trouble. “Even if he happens to get a takedown, one thing I haven’t shown is my guard game off my back, I feel completely comfortable anywhere the fight goes. I don’t think he’ll feel the same. I feel like I’ll be better everywhere.” Now that he has his opportunity to fight in the UFC, Kenney wants to start the process of adding a third title to go along with his two LFA championships in the coming years. “I’ve got my eyes set on another belt, but it’s just one step at a time,” said Kenney. “I’ll take this fight and then I’ll kind of sit back and decide what my next move is. I’m ready to stake my claim and make my long term career here in the UFC.”<doc-sep>
PHILADELPHIA -- There were definitely moments in 2018 when UFC bantamweight Ray Borg thought he shouldn't fight anymore. That, in some ways, he couldn't fight anymore. It's been more than 17 months since Borg, 25, stepped into the Octagon. That inactivity will finally come to an end on Saturday when he meets Casey Kenney (11-1-1) at UFC Fight Night at Wells Fargo Center. The UFC is now on ESPN and ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ to get: exclusive live UFC events, weigh-ins and more; Ariel and the Bad Guy; Dana White's Contender Series; and more exclusive MMA content. Borg has been scheduled to fight four times during that span, but all of those bouts fell through, for a myriad of reasons. The inactivity placed a tremendous amount of financial strain on his family, and Borg (11-3) did consider just moving on. "Shortly after [a canceled fight in November], my son went into surgery and I just took some time to hang back and really think about what I wanted to do," Borg told ESPN. "It was in the air if I was going to keep fighting. "This sport has been so up and down for me, and it just started to hit me that maybe a 9-to-5 would be less stressful on my family. Everything almost drove me away from fighting -- but my son wouldn't allow it. If he was going to keep fighting, there was no way I wasn't going to." Borg's son, Anthony, was born with the rare brain disease hydrocephalus and has undergone multiple surgeries over the past year. He celebrated his first birthday on Wednesday, and, according to Borg, his condition is "the smoothest it's ever been." Ray Borg has not fought since tangling at flyweight with then-champion Demetrious Johnson in October 2017. Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images Borg says his entire perception on life has changed over the past year, as he's dealt with his son's health issues and a lack of income from not competing. He also went through his own health problems during that time, and in order to eliminate a severe weight cut that has been tough on him, Borg has moved up from the 125-pound flyweight division. Nonetheless, he missed weight on Friday, coming in at 137.25 pounds, and will surrender 20 percent of his purse to Kenney. It's been a battle for him just to make it to this fight week. Borg said the simple routine of checking into a hotel on Tuesday was enjoyable. There were times in his career in which a fight could feel stressful, or like work, but after going without it for a year -- and watching his son wage a different kind of fight -- Borg feels blessed to be back. "For a while, I might have gotten caught up in the feeling of this being an obligation and not a privilege," Borg said. "It's a privilege to be able to do what I do. It's been a different mentality, as far as everything that's gone on with my son. "Me and my family, we need this fight probably more than anybody on this card needs a fight."