Ex-UFC fighter Tim Kennedy waterboards himself to prove it's 'not torture'

May 14 (UPI) -- Former UFC fighter and Army veteran Tim Kennedy attempted to prove that waterboarding isn't torture by turning a hose on himself.

Kennedy, 38, posted a video of himself Saturday on social media. The footage showed him lying face-up on a table with a cloth over his face. Men stood on each side of him, with one holding a camera and another holding a hose that poured water onto his face.

"We did this yesterday for almost 45 minutes," Kennedy wrote on the social media posts. "The average pour was anywhere from 10 to 60 seconds. You can try to hold your breath but the water pools at the back of your sinuses running down your eyes and nose. Plain and simple. It's not torture."

Kennedy's Twitter post had more than 7,400 likes, 5,700 comments and 3,000 retweets as of Monday morning. It has more than 240,000 views on Instagram. The post had more than 176,000 views and 3,400 likes on Facebook.

He referred to CIA director nominee Gina Haspel, whose involvement in controversial interrogation techniques has been questioned, in his caption for the post.

The former MMA fighter hasn't been in a UFC bout since losing to Kelvin Gastelum on Dec. 10, 2016 in UFC 206.

Last year, Kennedy wrote a post on social media on behalf of the "U.S. military," threatening the Islamic State.

Kennedy enlisted in 2003 and was awarded a Green Beret in 2005. He has had tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is currently assigned to Special Operations Detachement (A) as a senior Special Forces weapons sergeant, according to his official website.