Eric Kelly still in high spirits, plans to reassess career

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Filipino fighter Eric Kelly remains optimistic that he will put himself back on the winning track after suffering a disappointing defeat at the hands of Malaysian-Kiwi sensation Ev Ting on Friday, January 29.

Ting, a 26-year-old full-blooded Malaysian who grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, fought the perfect fight against Kelly, who is widely regarded as the greatest Filipino fighter that the local Philippine mixed martial arts (MMA) scene has produced.

“E.T.” pushed a merciless pace from bell to bell, methodically chopping Kelly with head kicks while pummeling him with power shots from both hands. 

Kelly saw a brief moment of hope in the last minute of the second round, where he climbed to Ting’s back and fastened hooks for his signature rear-naked choke. 

However, Ting scrambled into top position to smack him with a soccer kick and stayed busy with his ground-and-pound.

Desperation forced Kelly into his last mistake in the third and final round as he forced to convert a takedown, but he was trapped into a deep guillotine choke that left him with no choice but to wave the white flag for the first time in his illustrious career. 

The painful loss to Ting spoiled Kelly’s objective to elevate his stature in ONE Championship’s featherweight rankings and possibly be considered for a title tilt with division kingpin Marat Gafurov.

Kelly promised to bounce back strong and stressed that he did not suffer any serious injuries following the third-round submission setback. 

“I am fine. No harm done. But I cannot deny that I am disappointed. I have to accept the outcome. It is a hard lesson for me, but I will be back as an improved and better fighter,” Kelly told Rappler before boarding the plane going back to the Philippines.

The 33-year-old native of Baguio City, Benguet also revealed that he plans to take some time off to reassess his future as there are two more fights left in his contract with Asia’s largest MMA promotion.

“I need some time for myself and think about what happened, but it won’t be long because I have two fights left in my contract. I need to finish those two fights. Let’s see what happens next,” Kelly said. 

It was well-documented that Kelly went through a dispute with ONE due to fight purse discrepancies that sidelined the highly-decorated Pinoy combatant for 15 months.

In a separate interview with Rappler, ONE head honcho Victor Cui denied that the rift tainted the organization’s relationship with Kelly.

“There is no rift. He is a great guy. I will always be a supporter of Eric Kelly no matter what,” Cui stated.

Meanwhile, Kelly asserted that he intends to finish the agreement before making any major decision. 

“I will finish what’s left in my contract. From there, I will sit down and think about my future. But it’s not yet over for me,” Kelly said. – Rappler.com