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Former Army Green Beret turned UFC fighter Tim Kennedy is on the road to recovery in the US after he was wounded in last month’s ambush that left at least 20 people injured or dead in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kennedy, 47, has been receiving treatment at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where he spoke with Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) on Sunday, according to Reuters.
“I just spoke to my dear friend @TimKennedyMMA. That means he is not dead and that means I am thankful,” Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL, said on X.
“I am asking everyone to pray for his healing and that his wonderful family find Peace.”
The congressman then quipped that Kennedy’s injury “in no, shape, or form, does this change my position” on the Army-Navy rivalry.
“GO NAVY, BEAT ARMY!” he wrote.
Kennedy, 47, was working for Vectus Global — a private security firm founded by Blackwater founder Erik Prince — in Congo when he and other force members were ambushed while traveling between locations in South Kivu province on Sept. 17.
The region, in the country’s east, has been plagued by conflict for decades.
Kennedy suffered three gunshot wounds while at least 20 people were killed or wounded in the attack, according to the outlet.
At least seven Congolese and a former New Zealand Special Forces member were killed.
A Congolese security source told Reuters that villagers living near where the attack took place were likely among the casualties.
Kennedy was medevaced out of Congo while the full extent of his injuries remains unclear.
The former UFC fighter has not yet spoken publicly about the attack or his recovery. He last posted on social media amid his recovery on Sept. 25, in which he reflected on parenthood.
It has not been confirmed who was behind the ambush, but Congolese government sources told Reuters that Rwandan forces supporting M23 — a rebel group that has seized large swaths of eastern Congo — may have located Kennedy’s team by following a surveillance drone it was operating.
Rwanda has repeatedly denied backing M23, despite accusations from the United Nations and Western governments that it supports the rebel group.
In early 2025, the long-running conflict flared again as M23 fighters made swift gains across the east, which holds rich deposits of tantalum, gold, lithium and other minerals, according to Reuters.
Vectus Global was hired by Congo’s government last year to boost tax collection and curb mineral smuggling, but its role has since expanded to the battlefield.
Prince’s contractors operated drones supporting the Congolese army’s push to retake the eastern city of Uvira from M23 rebels. In early 2026, after Washington helped broker a deal for M23 to withdraw from the strategic town, Vectus forces deployed there.
The ambush marked the first known deaths of Vectus Global contractors in Congo, according to Reuters.
The Post has reached out to the Pentagon, Van Orden and Vectus Global for comment.
Kennedy served as a Green Beret in Iraq and Afghanistan and fought professionally in Strikeforce and the UFC before retiring with an 18-6 record in 2017.
The father of four later became a bestselling author and hosts a popular YouTube podcast, interviewing UFC fighters, veterans, cultural disruptors and others.
Since news of the ambush broke, the MMA world has rallied around Kennedy.
UFC CEO Dana White said he hadn’t heard the details but hoped Kennedy “heals up and recovers.”
“Jesus Christ. I wish him well,” White said at a UFC press conference last week.
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva called the ambush “terrible news” as he offered his prayers and support to Kennedy.
“Strength to you and your family. We’re all praying that you get well. God bless,” Silva wrote in an Instagram post.
With Post wires