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Ex-UFC Fighter Tim Kennedy Talks Waterboarding Video, Says It Isn't Torture

Kyle Newport@@KyleNewportX.com LogoFeatured ColumnistMay 15, 2018

TORONTO, CANADA - DECEMBER 10:  (R-L) Tim Kennedy punches Kelvin Gastelum in their middleweight bout during the UFC 206 event inside the Air Canada Centre on December 10, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Former MMA fighter Tim Kennedy raised eyebrows recently when he posted a video of himself being waterboarded, but there was a reason behind the stunt.

The ex-Green Beret wanted to prove "we're not a bunch of spineless cowards."

During a sitdown with TMZ Sports, Kennedy explained what it felt like to be waterboarded and claimed that it's "not real torture":

Waterboarding has long been a controversial technique to try and gather information from captives. A recent poll by Rasmussen showed that 36 percent of likely U.S. voters agree that waterboarding and other aggressive interrogation tactics should be employed by the CIA to pressure suspected terrorists to divulge information, while 47 percent do not agree and 17 percent are uncertain.

Kennedy acknowledges waterboarding is "uncomfortable," but he doesn't believe it comes close to some of the torture techniques he saw in his military career.

Kennedy went 18-6 during his MMA career, last fighting in December 2016.