Filipino fighter Eric Kelly set for ONE cage return
FOLLOWING two successive losses that have effectively shaken his standing in ONE Championship, veteran Filipino mixed martial arts fighter Eric “The Natural” Kelly returns to the cage next week with an eye on getting back to his winning ways.
Last saw action in July last year that had him losing to Narantungalag Jadambaa by knockout in the opening round, Mr. Kelly (12-3) makes his cage comeback in “ONE: Kings & Conquerors” on Aug. 5 in Macau, China, taking on former ONE lightweight champion Kotetsu “No Face” Boku of Japan.
It is a fight that the 35-yearold Kelly of Benguet is looking forward to, seeing it as an opportunity to show that he still has it to fight at the top level.
“It’s been a year since the last time that I fought. I am looking forward to put on a great performance for my beloved country. I have been training hard and going through strategies. I hope to give my 110% in the cage in Macau. I am coming to win,” said Mr. Kelly in the lead-up to the latest offering in Macau of Asia’s largest sports media property.
In preparing for his upcoming fight, Mr. Kelly, who has established an impressive career in MMA as a featherweight, even coming at one point within a win away from being crowned ONE champion, is sticking to his “lone wolf” style of training so as to keep him diverse.
“For me, I don’t have a stable gym where I train at full-time. I train more naturally. Whichever gym I find myself in, that’s where I train. Mostly, I just watch YouTube videos and apply it to my training and then I go to some gyms to test it out. I am in the constant search for more knowledge for my career,” he said.
“I have been doing this for the past eight years. I am still confident as to how I conduct my training. It has given me success in the past. I still believe that it will give me the success in my upcoming fight. It all boils down to discipline,” Mr. Kelly added.
In facing Mr. Boku (25-11-2), Mr. Kelly is facing an opponent as seasoned as it gets, with over 30 fights under his belt and practically seen everything there is, including becoming the inaugural ONE lightweight champion.
He boasts of a dynamic boxing background with world-class grappling, something Mr. Kelly hopes to neutralize and counter come fight night.
ONE: Kings & Conquerors will be headlined by the title bout between reigning ONE bantamweight world champion Bibiano Fernandes of Brazil and challenger Andrew Leone of the United States.
Serving as co-main event is the clash between Kairat Akhmetov of Kazakhstan and Adriano Moraes of Brazil for the undisputed ONE flyweight world championship title.
Apart from Mr. Kelly, other Filipinos seeing action at Kings & Conquerors are strawweight Joshua Pacio, who will take on Japanese newcomer Hayato Suzuki, and women’s atomweight Jomary Torres, who will face off with Rika Ishige of Thailand.