Despite a string of losses that ended his tenure in ONE Championship, Eric Kelly does not want to throw in the towel just yet.
FITTING END. Eric Kelly seeks to fight again for his MMA swan song. Photo from ONE Championship
While his compatriots such as Eduard Folayang, Kevin Belingon, Geje Eustaquio, and Joshua Pacio are basking in the glory of their own achievements under the sport's bright lights, Kelly seems to be far from his stature as one of the best athletes that the flourishing Philippine MMA scene has ever produced.
"I just had enough with it. I made a decision to have a peaceful life and I realized that I needed to look out for my future," Kelly said. The doctors at the Philippine Sports Commission told him that his only options were steroid injections, a risky surgery, and time off from training. Fortunately, he found a home at the Yaw-Yan Ardigma gym bankrolled by Christopher Romaine, fondly called as Chef Ro.
He was arguably the standout performer on that show, receiving a $5,000 bonus for rendering American prospect Mitch Chilson unconscious in the first round with a rear-naked choke. With or without an intricately-crafted belt around his waist, he was one of the best and brightest featherweights in Asia at that time.The last time that Kelly had his hand raised in triumph was in October 2015 when he defeated Japan's Hiroshige Tanaka viaKelly suffered 7 straight losses, starting from a third-roundIn the span of 4 years, his record has fallen from a very impressive 12-1 to a mediocre 12-8.
Kelly admitted that his desire for the sport greatly diminished when he started to generate big money from his fights. To make it worse, he got hooked on gambling.come-from-behind victory"I got addicted to the wrong habit. It was overwhelming, in my case. I didn't know how to handle or manage the money I was getting. It did make me bigheaded," he bared.
Breaking the addiction was no easy task for Kelly, but he mustered the determination to overcome it and rekindle his passion for MMA.
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