England’s Tom Breese had been ridding a wave of success in the UFC, until dropping a split decision against Sean Strickland at UFC 199. Breese was then scheduled to face Oluwale Bamgbose at UFC Fight Night 107, however he was deemed unfit to compete and the bout was cancelled. After more than a year away, he returned at UFC Liverpool on Sunday to face off with TUF alum Dan Kelly. Kelly, who after collecting wins over fighters like Chris Camozzi and former champion Rashad Evans, found himself on a skid, having lost to Derek Brunson, then dropping an unanimous decision to Elias Theodorou.

As the action kicked off, Breese opened with a quick jab, and Dan Kelly fired back with a leg kick. Breese changed levels, and went to Kelly’s body. Breese then fired off a combination that backed Kelly up. Kelly answered back with a leg kick. Breese loaded up the jab and mixed in body shots. Both fighters were exchanging, with Breese getting off just a little quicker. Suddenly, Breese hurt Kelly with a uppercut to the eye that sent Kelly back to the fence, briefly turning his back. Breese was quick to close the distance, and rained down punches on the downed fighter that forced the ref to step in and end the fight.

Just like that, Tom Breese had the win, and for Dan Kelly, it may just have been the end of a career, given retirement talk prior to the fight.

Tom Breese def. Dan Kelly via TKO, Round 1, 3:33

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UFC Liverpool was announced by Darren Till himself at the UFC London weigh-ins.

In addition to one half of the main event, the promotion announced that Tom Breese will make his return against Dan Kelly, and Elias Theodorou will battle Trevor Smith.

Darren Till, a Liverpool native, is seen as one of the brightest prospects in the sport, already ranked seventh in the welterweight division and is 14-0-1 in his career, with a 4-0-1 record in the Octagon. His knockout power was on display against Donald Cerrone in his last bout, which was a headliner on Fight Pass. Adding his colorful personality to his excellent striking skills and the UFC believes they have a star on their hands.

Tom Breese was one of Britain’s finest prospects before his undefeated run was stopped by Sean Strickland. He was set to face Oluwale Bamgbose in March of last year, but was medically unfit to fight, and has not competed since. Dan Kelly was the talk of the middleweight division, winning as an underdog again and again as he approached 40 years of age. His run was stopped by Derek Brunson and Elias Theodorou added on to the losing streak in his last appearance.

Theodorou is a very solid 6-2 in the Octagon with wins over Sam Alvey and Cezar Ferreira. The Canadian winner of TUF Nations will also serve as Invicta FC’s first ring boy. His opponent, Trevor Smith, is a hard-nosed fighter with a 5-4 UFC record, most recently beating now-GLORY kickboxer Chris Camozzi last May.

UFC Liverpool will take place on Sunday, May 27, at the Echo Arena in England. Stay tuned to Cageside Press as more bouts get added to the card.

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TUF: Nations winner Elias Theodoreau came into UFC Fight Night 121 off a loss to Brad Tavares that snapped a two-fight winning streak. Looking to get back on track down under, he was set to face off against Dad Bod God Dan Kelly. Kelly was also stepping back into the cage after a loss, in his case to Derek Brunson. That loss was suffered in New Zealand, and saw Kelly’s feel-good four-fight win streak come to an end.

Kelly, like Theodoreau, appeared on 2014’s The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia. However, the pair never shared the cage during their time on the show.

Who would return to the win column at UFC Sydney?

The Canadian went right after the lead leg of Dan Kelly with kicks early. He would mix up the levels of his kicks, but get caught with a short punch off of one about ninety seconds in. Kelly would pepper Theordoreau with punches following that, but the Canadian recovered and nearly took Kelly’s leg out from under him. The active first round saw Theodoreau continue the kicking attack from all angles, and fight his way out of any clinch that arose with Kelly, keeping the Australian at range.

The kick-heavy attack continued for Elias Theodoreau in round two, while Kelly’s best moments came from dirty boxing in the clinch. Kelly would finally get the crowd fired up with a trip with just under two minutes gone from the round, but Theodoreau was quickly back to his feet. A low blow landed on Kelly briefly paused the action; back underway, the Canadian continued to chop away at Kelly like a lumberjack. Kelly would land a solid uppercut off a clinch, but Theodoreau would then land three unanswered head kicks, which appeared only partially blocked in some cases. Another head kick by Elias Theodoreau would graze Kelly towards the end of the round, taking the middleweights to a third and final frame.

The big question heading into round three would become conditioning, as Theodoreau appeared to be tiring. The Canadian launched several hard kicks at the bandaged lead leg of Kelly, who was visibly limping early in the round. Kelly would manage to clip his opponent, but Theordoreau clearly had him wounded. Kelly would then manage to take Theordoreau down and take the back, sinking in  rear-naked choke. The Canadian would control the wrist of Kelly and give the thumbs up to the ref, fighting the choke off and winding up on top. Kelly worked back to his feet; that was the closest the bout had come to a finish. With half a round remaining, could Kelly come close again? In the end, he would not, as Theodoreau continued chopping away at the Australian right up to the buzzer. Head kicks, leg kicks, and kicks to the midsection were just too much for Kelly to overcome.

Elias Theodoreau def. Dan Kelly by unanimous decision (30-28, 30-27, 30-26)

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