Bellator prospect Darragh Kelly makes his move back down to featherweight this coming weekend as he takes on Jelle Zeegers at Bellator 299.
Kelly’s last Bellator fight came in February this year when he defeated Dorval Jordan in the third round, but since then, he competed at Clan Wars 47 in Belfast, Ireland, winning their vacant lightweight belt.
Despite taking the fight on the regional scene, “The Moville Mauler” will tape up the Bellator gloves and walk out in the 3Arena for the fourth time in his Bellator tenure.
To prepare for this fight with Zeegers, Kelly took a trip out to Thailand to get some training in that he admitted made him ‘more well rounded’ as a fighter. “I wanted to go out for one to mix things up to change the environment and get a new outlook on things and there’s no better place to work on your striking.
“We were out there for just over five weeks and it was quality training, I took a lot from it even in such a short space of time I think it changed my style slightly, I think I’m more well rounded since and I’ve changed my approach to training even since coming back,” Kelly said.
With his last fight being at lightweight and only being three months ago, there were question marks over why the 25-year-old made the decision to move back down, but he explained it, saying “obviously it’s a lot tougher getting down to 145, 10lbs is a big drop. I like the discipline it takes to get down there and obviously I’m big and strong down there, I feel every bit as strong as I do at lightweight, I think it does suit me slightly better.”
Check out the Bellator 299 media day with Darragh Kelly above.
