ONE Championship: Eric Kelly Finds Resolve In Shanghai Heartbreak
Credit to Author: Tempo Online| Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2019 12:25:30 +0000
Eric “The Natural” Kelly may have returned to the Philippines empty-handed once again, but there are two things he got back from his latest outing.
Those two things are his warrior spirit and his grit.
Kelly lost his seventh consecutive match after dropping a unanimous decision to Niu Kang Kang last Saturday, 15 June at ONE: LEGENDARY QUEST from the Baoshan Arena in Shanghai, China.
Eric Kelly (ONE Championship photo)
Though the Baguio City native was overwhelmed by his Chinese foe, he showed a lot of drive from the loss as his supporters — who saw a new lease on life for “The Natural” — pushed him to keep going.
“After looking back, I do feel a bit rejuvenated, and I feel like I can continuously take on the challenges I have here in the sport and in my personal life,” the 37-year-old said.
Not bad for someone who was considering retirement directly after the loss.
Kelly was understandably down following the match to the point that he thought about hanging up his gloves after yet another heartbreak.
“I have seven straight losses. I have never been so dismayed at myself as a mixed martial artist, and right now, I admit that I am thinking about retirement,” he confessed.
The tough breaks just keep on rolling for Kelly, as the former ONE Featherweight World Title challenger shared that he even got injured before flying to China.
“Three days before we traveled to Shanghai, I suffered an accidental headbutt on my left eye. [Niu] hit it with a jab and it quickly opened, and it really affected my stand-up game,” he added.
“But I didn’t stop even when we were on the ground. I kept on punching, hoping to score some points, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
Still, it was a decent outing for Kelly, and that was pretty evident with the feedback he received from his supporters.
The retirement will happen for Kelly at some point, but he vows to not leave The Home Of Martial Arts without getting another victory.
“To all my fans who are always there, thank you,” he said. “Without your words, I would have given up. I just want to get a win, and maybe then I can consider retirement.”