Paul Kelly (fighter)

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Paul Kelly
BornPaul Anthony Kelly [1]
(1984-09-12) 12 September 1984 (age 39)
Liverpool, England
Other namesTellys
Nationality English
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
Division Lightweight (2009–2012)
Welterweight (2006–2009, 2012–present)
Middleweight (2005–2006)
Reach70.0 in (178 cm)
Fighting out of Liverpool, England
TeamWolfslair MMA academy (2004–2010) [2] [3]
Team Kaobon (2010–2021) [2]
Years active2005–2013, 2020–2021
Mixed martial arts record
Total20
Wins15
By knockout8
By submission4
By decision3
Losses5
By knockout1
By submission2
By decision2
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Paul Anthony Kelly
Born (1984-09-12) 12 September 1984 (age 39)
Criminal statusReleased in 2019
Conviction(s) Heroin trafficking
Criminal penalty13 years in prison

Paul Anthony Kelly [1] (born 12 September 1984) is a retired English mixed martial artist who is best known for his nine-fight stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Contents

Kelly was sentenced to thirteen years in prison for heroin trafficking in 2013. He was released in 2019.

Mixed martial arts career

Background

Coming from an amateur boxer family, Kelly grew up in boxing gyms and got in a lot of altercations in his youth. [4] He was expelled from school and never completed his education. [3]

Kelly started out his mixed martial arts career in Liverpool, England at the Wolfslair MMA academy which was once home to The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Michael Bisping. [5] However, he later moved across town to Team Kaobon, home of former UFC lightweight Terry Etim and retired UFC lightweight Paul Taylor. [6]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

He made his UFC debut at UFC 80: Rapid Fire, where he won a decision victory over his opponent Paul Taylor. [7] Kelly and Taylor were both awarded $35,000 as a bonus for Fight of the Night. [8] The fight was ranked #100 on UFC's Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights.

Kelly was scheduled to fight Jonathan Goulet at UFC 85, but Goulet pulled out citing a lack of preparation. [9] Before another opponent was found, Kelly himself had to withdraw from the event after injuring his right hand during training. [10]

Kelly was defeated by Marcus Davis via submission at UFC 89. [11]

Kelly defeated Troy Mandaloniz at UFC 95. [12] Kelly battered Mandaloniz from top position throughout the fight. He opened cuts above both of Mandaloniz's eyes with elbows and punches. [13] The judges scored the fight (30–27, 30–27, 30–28) for a unanimous decision for Kelly. [14]

After the fight with Mandaloniz, Kelly announced he was moving from welterweight to lightweight. [15] Kelly said he wanted to make the drop after leaving the division on a winning note. [15]

Kelly fought Rolando Delgado at UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany. This was his first fight at lightweight. [16] Kelly defeated Roli after going all three rounds giving Kelly the unanimous decision victory.

Kelly lost his fight against Dennis Siver at UFC 105 after having his ribs injured by a spinning back kick and getting hit by punches from Siver. [17] This was his first fight under Team Kaobon. Kelly revealed afterwards that his ribs had already been damaged going into the fight, a by-product of the notoriously hard-contact sparring sessions at Kaobon.

Kelly then looked to bounce back, against Matt Veach on the UFC 112 card in Abu Dhabi. [18] At 3:41 of the second round, Kelly pulled off a guillotine choke submission and was victorious.

This was then intended to be followed up with a fight against Jacob Volkmann at the UFC 116 prelims, on 3 July. [19] However, the fight was moved on 1 August, to the UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko card due to visa issues forcing him out of the 116 card. [20] Volkmann went on to defeat Kelly via unanimous decision (all judges scoring the bout 30–27).

Kelly was expected to face Gabe Ruediger on 20 November 2010, at UFC 123. [21] However, Ruediger was forced out of the bout with a groin injury. [22] Ruediger was replaced by TUF 12 competitor TJ O'Brien. [23] After initially struggling to hit O'Brien's chin, due to the height disadvantage, Kelly was able to connect and dropped O'Brien with a combination. Later in the second round, Kelly secured a crucifix and hit O'Brien with multiple elbows, resulting in a TKO stoppage. [24]

Kelly was expected to face Sam Stout on 5 February 2011, at UFC 126, [25] but Stout was forced from the bout with an injury and replaced by Donald Cerrone. [26] Kelly lost to Cerrone via submission due to a rear-naked choke. Although he lost, the performance earned him and Cerrone Fight of the Night honors.

In the aftermath of his loss to Cerrone, Kelly was released from the promotion, [27] leaving the company with a 5-4 record.

Post UFC

Kelly was expected to face Afakasi Sione at UCMMA 21 in England on 25 June. However, due to an injury Kelly had to withdraw from the bout.

Kelly was expected to fight at Legacy FC 9 on 16 December 2011 against Jeff Rexroad. However, Kelly pulled out of the fight due to visa issues and has been replaced by Efrain Escudero, However, Efrain was re-signed to the UFC, causing him to withdraw from the bout. [28]

Super Fight League

Kelly, along with Xavier Foupa-Pokam and Lena Ovchynnikova signed a four-fight contract with the Super Fight League. [29]

He made his debut for them at SFL 2 against WEC and Strikeforce veteran Ryan Healy. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. [30]

UCMMA

There has been an ongoing feud between Kelly and Richard Griffin over the last few weeks which has resulted in them being booked to fight at UCMMA 31. [31] They were having a disagreement over a fight that Richard Griffin and Ross Pointon had in the Dominican Republic that was recently posted on the UCMMA Facebook page. Kelly stated that he thought Griffin was lucky in his fight with Pointon and that "The Real Deal" would win that match-up 9 times out of ten. Griffin felt disrespected and fired back with some insults of his own, which including jabs at Kelly being dropped by the UFC. Both men then called for a fight in the cage to settle the matter, in which Dave O’Donnell decided to approach both men to arrange the fight.

Kelly and Griffin settled this feud on 1 December with Kelly winning via guillotine choke in the second round.

Post-conviction career

Having been active at the gym and studying nutrition during his prison sentence, Kelly returned to the regional mixed martial arts competition at Probellum 1: Liverpool on 7 March 2020. [32] Kelly faced Simone Bottino, winning the bout in the second round via technical knockout. [33]

In February 2021, Kelly announced his retirement from the sport. [34]

Personal life

Kelly had his first child, a daughter named Phoebe in June 2008. [35]

Drug trafficking conviction

In May 2013, Kelly was found guilty of heroin trafficking in the United Kingdom and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. However, Kelly was put on work release in 2017 and had completed his sentence and thus released in May 2019. [36] [37] [38] [39] During his work release, Kelly started a healthy eating restaurant in Liverpool. [39]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
20 matches15 wins5 losses
By knockout81
By submission42
By decision32
Res.RecordOpponentMethodEventDateRoundTimeLocationNotes
Win15–5Simone BottinoTKO (elbows and punches)Probellum 1: Liverpool7 March 202021:37 Liverpool, United Kingdom
Win14–5Henrique SantanaTKO (punches)UWC 222 March 201313:47 Essex, England, United Kingdom
Win13–5Richard GriffinSubmission (guillotine choke)UCMMA 311 December 201222:52 London, England, United KingdomWelterweight bout.
Loss12–5 Ryan Healy Decision (unanimous) SFL 2 7 April 201235:00 Chandigarh, India
Loss12–4 Donald Cerrone Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 126 5 February 201123:48 Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesFight of the Night
Win12–3TJ O'BrienTKO (elbows) UFC 123 20 November 201023:16 Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States
Loss11–3 Jacob Volkmann Decision (unanimous) UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko 1 August 201035:00 San Diego, California, United States
Win11–2 Matt Veach Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 112 10 April 201023:41 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Loss10–2 Dennis Siver TKO (spinning back kick and punches) UFC 105 14 November 200922:53 Manchester, England
Win10–1 Rolando Delgado Decision (unanimous) UFC 99 13 June 200935:00 Cologne, GermanyDebut at Lightweight
Win9–1 Troy Mandaloniz Decision (unanimous) UFC 95 21 February 200935:00 London, England
Loss8–1 Marcus Davis Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 89 18 October 200822:16 Birmingham, England
Win8–0 Paul Taylor Decision (unanimous) UFC 80 19 January 200835:00 Newcastle upon Tyne, EnglandFight of the Night
Win7–0Jordan JamesTKO (punches)Cage Gladiators 4: Prepare for Glory5 August 200722:40 Liverpool, England
Win6–0Sami BerikSubmission (rear-naked choke)Cage Warriors: Enter The Rough House 321 July 200711:27 Nottingham, England
Win5–0Marius LiaukeviciusSubmission (arm-triangle choke)Clash of Warriors14 July 200711:10England
Win4–0Bruce DavisTKO (doctor stoppage)House of Pain Fight Night 6: The Real Deal30 July 200613:38 Swansea, WalesWon Middleweight title
Win3–0James NealTKO (punches)Ultimate Force26 November 200613:02 South Yorkshire, England
Win2–0Nigel WhitearTKO (punches)FX3: Battle of Britain15 October 200510:54England
Win1–0Ian McAleeseTKO (punches) CWFC: Quest 2 29 July 200511:21England

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References

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