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Eric Kelly not medically cleared for One FC: Reign of Champions

Nissi Icasiano

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Eric Kelly not medically cleared for One FC: Reign of Champions
The busted nose that Eric Kelly sustained in his win over Rob Lisita hasn't yet healed, forcing him to withdraw from his One FC featherweight title shot

MANILA, Philippines – Eric Kelly’s title aspirations have been put on hold as the 32-year-old Filipino fighter was not medically cleared to compete at One FC: Reign of Champions on August 29.

Kelly (11-1) earned the right to face Koji Oishi for the One FC featherweight belt after pulling off a come-from-behind victory over Rob Lisita in the main event of One FC: War of Dragons last July 11.

Bathed in his own blood, “The Natural” overcame significant difficulty to latch on a rear-naked choke to force Lisita to wave the white flag in the second round.

Despite his triumph over Lisita, Kelly’s nose was badly injured due to his refusal to relent with the hard-hitting Australian in the earlier proceedings of the bout.

According to an insider, Kelly’s team decided not to risk booking him a five-round championship clash with Oishi to avoid a repeat of complications.

The 5-foot-7 native of Baguio City fought for the inaugural One FC 145-pound crown in February 2013, but he fell short to fellow Pinoy combatant Honorio Banario as he bowed down via technical knockout due to an eye injury.

His setback to Banario was the first loss of his professional career and prompted Kelly to take time away from fighting to heal his right eye, which was damaged prior to his meeting with “The Rock” at One FC: Return of Warriors.

“They won’t risk it this time around. We all know what happened to Eric Kelly when he fought Honorio Banario last year. His team wants him to be 100 percent by the time he vies for the belt,” the insider said.

As a result, Jadamba Narantungalag will take Kelly’s spot to challenge Oishi for the featherweight strap.

One Fighting Championship officials quickly found a fitting replacement in Jadamba (9-3), who is coming off a unanimous decision over a former titleholder in Banario at One FC: Honor & Glory this past May

Five of the Mongolian kickboxer’s nine victories have been won by stoppage, with four coming by way of submission.

On the opposite end, Oishi (25-9-10) has never fought since his successful title defense against Banario in December of last year at One FC: Moment of Truth, where he knocked out the Team Lakay representative with a straight right hand in round three.

A veteran of 44 mixed martial arts (MMA) contests, the 37-year-old Japanese captured the One FC featherweight belt in May 2013 when he spoiled Banario’s first title defense in front of his countrymen via second-round knockout.

Aside from the Oishi-Jadamba title tilt, Asia’s largest MMA promotion has booked three more bouts for the aforementioned fight card, which takes place at the World Trade Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

James McSweeney (13-11) makes his light heavyweight debut versus Cristiano Kaminishi (8-1, 2 NC), while Filipino stalwart Vaughn Donayre (7-1) takes on Mohammed Walid (3-0) for his initial assignment as a One FC fighter.

In addition, Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke (1-0) locks horns with MMA newcomer Ali Yaakub in a three-round flyweight tussle.

One FC: Reign of Champions is headlined by a welterweight championship match between Nobutatsu Suzuki (11-1-2) and Ben Askren (13-0).

In the co-headliner, Shinya Aoki (35-6, 1 NC) defends the One FC lightweight title against Kamal Shalorus (9-3-2).

Although One FC publicly confirmed before that the middleweight belt would be up for grabs at the same event, the organization did not mention about the top prize of the 185-pound division in its press release on Wednesday, August 6. – Rappler.com

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