Ex-UFC star Tim Kennedy said the reason he decided to get waterboarded was to show the world, "We're not a bunch of spineless cowards" ... and insists it didn't even hurt.
Kennedy -- a U.S. Army Special Forces sniper -- let his friends waterboard him for about 45 minutes over the weekend ... and live streamed it to show the world why it shouldn't be considered torture.
"It feels like you're drowning. It feels like it, but you're not," Kennedy tells TMZ Sports.
"Because the water is going down in the back of your eyes, up your nose, it's pooling in the back of your throat. You’re trying to hold your breath, but all that water is pounding at the back of your throat, so you can't hold your breath."
"It's uncomfortable. It doesn’t feel good. It's not like, 'Let's go get a spa treatment.' A little face massage. It's an uncomfortable thing. But, it's a very effective thing."
Kennedy is adamant waterboarding should NOT be considered torture -- and explained his point in graphic detail.
"I have seen torture firsthand. I have found people with no fingers. I've seen people with their breasts cut off. I've seen their eyelids slit open so they could watch their own family being murdered. That's torture. This is water being poured on your face."