Kelley (8-3) most recently fought on June 18 at UFC Austin, in a high-profile match-up with Contender Series alum Adrian Yanez. He lost the fight via TKO in the opening round, and also missed weight for the bout.

UFC Roster Watch, an automated service that monitors the promotion’s athlete database, first noted that Kelley had been removed from the active roster.

A member of the UFC roster since 2020, Kelley went 2-2 with the company, picking up wins against Randy Costa and Ali AlQaisi, while dropping his debut to Kai Kamaka III.

It was his actions while serving as a corner to girlfriend Andrea “KGB” Lee, however, that got Kelley in hot water earlier this year. Coaching Lee between rounds in a fight with Viviane Araujo, Kelley responded to KGB’s complaints of an eye poke by saying “that’s what they do, they’re dirty f*cking Brazilians,” adding “they’re going to f*cking cheat like that.”

Kelley would later defend the comments, suggesting the backlash was part of cancel culture. In a one-on-one with Cageside Press, he denied any accusations of racism.

Whether or not cancel culture played a hand in Kelley departing the UFC remains to be seen. With four fights under his belt, the promotion opted not to re-sign him, per a report by MMA Fighting. No official statement has been made by the promotion or Kelley’s team.

The post Tony Kelley Off UFC Roster Following Loss to Yanez appeared first on Cageside Press.

Of course, it wasn’t a good night for everyone. The losing half of the card will have to regroup, so let’s take a look at where those on the main card go from here.

Calvin Kattar

You win some, you lose some, and the judges cost you some. There has been plenty of debate about UFC Austin’s main event. It wasn’t quite a robbery, just a very close fight, and someone had to lose. Turns out, it’s New England Mafia member Kattar.

On paper, this is a loss, but it probably won’t set him back very far. Kattar deserves another main event, and another shot at re-establishing his name in the featherweight division. There’s also one name, ranked immediately below him at the moment, that makes a lot of sense: The Korean Zombie.

Zombie lost a shot at gold back in April, but it doesn’t seem like he’s ready to retire just yet. TKZ vs. Kattar wouldn’t just be fireworks, it would be the Fourth of July.

Kattar’s next fight: The Korean Zombie

Tim Means

“The Dirty Bird” was grounded by Kevin Holland at UFC Austin, with Holland locking up the win with a D’arce choke. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak for veteran Means, who at 38 probably just has a handful of fights left. Means isn’t anywhere near the rankings, but can draw eyeballs against other mid-card guys (or, with someone like Holland, works as a co-main event in a pinch). Next up, Mickey Gall has been floundering of late. Let’s see how he does against a wily veteran in Means.

Means’ next fight: Mickey Gall

Albert Duraev

Contender Series vet Albert Duraev was lit up by a fired up Joaquin Buckley at UFC Austin. This setback should slow his roll a little. Duraev had a bit of hype behind him thanks to his willingness to fight and take short turnarounds, but he’s now 1-1 inside the octagon.

A.J. Dobson is 0-1 and coming off a loss in his promotional debut back in February. He doesn’t have a fight booked. If Duraev wants to keep his pace up, that match-up could work.

Duraev’s next fight: A.J. Dobson

Guram Kutateladze

Two fights, and two close split decisions, have greeted Guram Kutateladze in the UFC. One, against Mateusz Gamrot, went his way. The other, at UFC Austin against Damir Ismagulov, did not. The biggest problem is the year plus of down time in between Kutateladze’s fights. He was twice booked against Don Madge (now with the PFL), but injuries forced him out.

Hopefully, Kutateladze can get back to work sooner this time. He remains a prospect to watch, and should get a decent opponent. Speaking of — Ottman Azaitar hasn’t fought since prior to that notorious Fight Island incident in January 2021, where he and his team cut off their wrist bands and slipped them to people outside the quarantine zone. The UFC initially cut Azaitar, then opted to give him a second chance.

Azaitar is a perfect 13-0, but as a result of his boneheaded decision, he was pulled from his fight with Matt Frevola. If he’s ready to return, Kutateladze works.

Kutateladze’s next fight: Ottman Azaitar

Julian Marquez

“The Cuban Missile Crisis” Marquez wound up under heavy fire and put away by Gregory “Robocop” Rodriguez at UFC Austin. That snapped a two-fight win streak, with both victories coming in 2021. Marquez saw his profile skyrocket when he called out Miley Cyrus following a February 13, 2021 victory over Maki Pitolo. He hasn’t hit the same heights since, and will need to go back to the drawing board after a fight that saw him used for target practice.

When he returns, Marquez still has a couple of things going for him: he doesn’t get in boring fights, and has finished every fight he’s ever won. That includes his Contender Series fight against Phil Hawes in 2017. Hawes also fought at UFC Austin, lighting up Deron Winn for a TKO finish. A rematch between these two could be quite interesting.

Marquez’s next fight: Phil Hawes

Tony Kelley

Thanks to some off-putting comments about Brazilians while working in the corner of girlfriend KGB Lee a while back, Tony Kelley was public enemy number one at UFC Austin. He doubled down on it, breaking out double middle fingers before the fight, but it was Adrian Yanez flipping him off after finishing Kelley in the opening round.

Kelley is a solid fighter who had a couple of wins in the UFC’s bantamweight division prior to the loss. In this case, the UFC might as well cash in on his notoriety and book him against a Brazilian next.

Contender Series winner Saimon Oliveira lost his promotional debut earlier this year. He was supposed to fight at UFC 275, but withdrew from a bout with Kyung Ho Kang. Match these two up later in the year.

Kelley’s next fight: Saimon Oliveira

The post What’s Next: UFC Austin Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

And that was before the fight even transpired.

Yanez was returning to action for the first time since becoming a father— while still mourning the loss of his own father, and his coach.

Kelley had become public enemy number one in recent months, meanwhile. While corning girlfriend Andrea “KGB” Lee, his response to a Viviane Araujo eye poke had included the phrase “dirty f*cking Brazilians” — following which the internet labelled Kelley racist.

The comment was more likely a dig at Brazilians fighting dirty, not being dirty, but labeling an entire country as cheaters hadn’t won Kelley any fans. As a result, Brazilian UFC athletes including Gilbert Burns had offered Yanez money to finish Kelley, though he replied that he’d do it for free.

And after all that, Kelley missed weight for the bout.

With all that in mind, Yanez came out firing on Saturday, but soon settled in, with Kelley on the outside. Kelley fired kicks low and high; Yanez landed a left, which led Kelley to tap his chin mockingly. Kelley’s kicks would backfire later in the round, when Yanez caught one, then cracked Kelley in response. Kelley would be hurt again moments later, and Yanez poured it on, firing hooks. Kelley fired back, but would eat a massive right hook next, wobbled but still standing. Kelley’s eye was swelling, and Yanez wobbled him again! Right hand after right hand hit by the ear. This time, Kelley went to a knee, and Yanez followed up with several more strikes, sealing the deal.

FIRST ROUND FINISH IN HIS HOME STATE!!! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/mDEMNTyH0Y

— UFC (@ufc) June 18, 2022

Yanez made a statement with that win — both to Kelley, and the division at large.

Official Result: Adrian Yanez def. Tony Kelley by TKO, Round 1, 3:49

The post UFC Austin: Adrian Yanez Pieces Up Tony Kelley, Ends Heated Fight Early appeared first on Cageside Press.

Now, he makes his own return to the octagon, looking to make a statement as part of this Saturday’s UFC Austin card.

“A lot of people talk, a lot of people haven’t seen the best of me, and I plan on showing the whole world,” bantamweight Kelley (8-2) told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview.

It’s nearly impossible to remove last month’s corner controversy from the conversation surrounding Kelley’s return. While working with Lee between rounds, he replied to her concern about an illegal eye poke by Viviane Araujo by saying “that’s what they’re going to do, they’re dirty f*cking Brazilians, they’re going to f*cking cheat like that.”

In response, a number of Brazilian fighters threw their support behind Adrian Yanez, Kelley’s opponent this weekend. Gilbert Burns went so far as to offer money to Yanez for a finish. In short, there’s a bounty on Tony Kelley this weekend, and aside from that, he’s been accused of being flat-out racist.

My guy @yanezmma get a finish on your next fight and I will send you an extra money 💰 #UFCVegas54 ✊🏾🇧🇷

— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) May 15, 2022

Kelley initially blamed cancel culture for the backlash, but he recognizes that people haven’t been very satisfied with that response.

“People feel like I’m blaming cancel culture or whatever. No, ultimately, I’m talking sh*t about cancel culture because my job is to relay information in the corner, and I’m really not focused on if I offend somebody or not,” Kelley explained when asked about the situation, and given the floor to tell his side. “That’s the last thing on my mind. If you go back and you actually watch the fight, everyone’s like ‘aww you’re a dumbass, why would you say that on international television? Well I didn’t. If you watch the fight, you’ll never hear it air. It was not aired. So somebody clipped that out and sent it off into the Twitterverse just to get at me.”

That’s not to say the comments didn’t happen. “Yeah of course I said that, but obviously I misspoke and everyone who knows me knows that. But at the end of the day, to give a little bit of clarification on that, it was just regarding an eye poke, I don’t mean to categorize a whole nation of Brazil. I think most people understand that, but there’s other people who just want to play the victim on that.”

Kelley went on to add that he has nothing against Brazilians, or against anyone else. “Actually I dislike everyone equally, I’ll put it that way. So I think pretty much I’ve answered all that, much love to my Brazilian fans and friends. If you don’t like what I said, I don’t know what to tell you on that, sorry. Sorry if you got your feelings hurt.”

When it comes to fighters taking sides and offering Yanez money for a finish, meanwhile, Kelley sees it as opportunistic.

“I think they’re just trying to ride the wave, honestly. To be really honest with you, it’s just something to talk about,” he suggested. “I think everyone who knows me, knows the diverse group of friends and the circle I’m in. They obviously know that racist is like the stupidest thing to say. There’s real racism going on in the world. Perhaps I may have misspoke in the minute that I have with my girlfriend, who I’m highly invested in, [who] in a fight tells me in the corner ‘hey I got gouged in the eye, I’m having trouble seeing.’ I’m thinking ‘that’s dirty, that’s some dirty sh*t.’ Maybe I misspoke, we’re facing Brazilians, what do you want? I don’t know. Throw him some money, I don’t care, I’m getting my hand raised either way.”

In the end, Kelley fights Adrian Yanez this weekend, and there may even be more eyeballs on the match-up as a result of the controversy. But it’s a fight Kelley wanted, that he accepted even before he was cleared to compete, because he likes the match-up that much.

“I’m not even cleared til July. I wanted this fight, they offered this fight to me, I accepted this fight. He’s ranked #20 in the world, I really just like the match-up. He’s an exciting fighter, I just think that I’m better. And I think that I’m going to show that, I’m going to show the whole world that.”

Watch our full interview with UFC Austin’s Tony Kelley above. The event takes place this Saturday, June 18, 2022 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

The post UFC Austin: Tony Kelley on Corner Controversy, And Brazilian Fighters Offering Bounty On Him appeared first on Cageside Press.

Lee had a strong opening round against Brazil’s Viviane Araujo, landing a thunderous head kick that knocked Araujo to the canvass. By the end of the round, however, Araujo had recovered, and in the second, she took control of the fight. Relying on her grappling game, she made life a nightmare for Lee on the ground. Lee ultimately lost a decision.

Between rounds, Lee could be overheard saying she felt as if she was going to pass out. It was other comments, from coach and boyfriend Tony Kelley, that got people talking however. Following the first round, Lee complained about a thumb to the eye.

“That’s what they’re going to do, they’re dirty f*cking Brazilians,” Kelley told her. “They’re going to f*cking cheat like that.”

Response to the comments was far from positive.

Tony Kelley in the corner: "That's what they're going to do, they're dirty f*cking Brazilians, they're going to f*cking cheat like that."

Unacceptable…

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) May 15, 2022

https://twitter.com/UmarLeeIII/status/1525704275233472512

On Sunday, Kelley released a statement on social media in response to his comments while cornering Lee, blaming cancel culture for the outcry.

“Cancel Culture is real. What I said was real and in the heat of battle, and in no way had any type of racist connotations meant… but if that’s the way you take it, idgaf [I don’t give a f*ck],” Kelley wrote. “So many people quick to say racist.. that sh*t’s getting so old. My reference was to a dirty eye poke.”

Lee’s ex-husband, Donny Aaron, also a former coach of the flyweight, came under fire years ago for having multiple Nazi-themed tatoos, including a swastika. The pair later split after a highly publicized domestic violence incident, which led to Aaron going on the run. After nine months on the lam, Aaron was finally apprehended in May of 2019.

Kelley, meanwhile, has a fight with Adrian Yanez coming up — and the UFC’s Brazilian contingent will no doubt be firmly in the corner of Yanez.

My guy @yanezmma get a finish on your next fight and I will send you an extra money 💰 #UFCVegas54 ✊🏾🇧🇷

— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) May 15, 2022

The post Tony Kelley Responds to Racism Accusations, Blames Cancel Culture appeared first on Cageside Press.

Yanez (15-3), a bonus-winning machine so far in his young UFC career, will face Tony Kelley (8-2) at the UFC’s June 18, 2022 Fight Night event in Austin, Texas. Iridium Sports Agency, who represent Yanez, was first to announce the news. Yanez also confirmed the match-up on social media.

A Dana White’s Contender Series winner in 2020, Yanez has won his first four UFC bouts, capturing a post-fight bonus in every one of them: three Performance of the Night bonuses, and one Fight of the Night. Overall, Yanez has won eight straight fights, and has shown no sign of slowing down.

Kelley also joined the UFC in 2020, and has posted a 2-1 record thus far. He’s coming into the fight with Yanez off back-to-back wins over Ali AlQaisi and common opponent Randy Costa, who Yanez also faced last year.

June 18’s UFC Austin card is expected to be headlined by featherweight action, as Calvin Kattar faces Josh Emmett. The following bouts have been reported to date:

• Calvin Kattar vs. Josh Emmett
• Court McGee vs. Jeremiah Wells
• Joaquin Buckley vs. Albert Duraev
• Kevin Holland vs. Tim Means
• Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Natália Silva
• Damir Ismagulov vs. Guram Kutateladze
• Maria Oliveira vs. Gloria de Paula
• Eddie Wineland vs. Cody Stamann
• Roman Dolidze vs. Kyle Daukaus
• Phil Hawes vs. Deron Winn
• Julian Marquez vs. Gregory Rodrigues
• JP Buys vs. Cody Durden
• Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon
• Adrian Yanez vs. Tony Kelley

The post Adrian Yanez to Face Tony Kelley at UFC Austin on June 18 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Kelley was all smiles following his victory as he spoke to the media about the win and what is next.

“Yeah, I’m excited. Obviously I’m excited, we come to win. So getting the win is always exciting,” Kelley said.

Kelley (8-2) was aggressive from the start of the fight and took it to Costa who seemed to be trying to save his energy for the later rounds of the fight. Costa deviated from his usual game plan of being aggressive himself in the first round and it seems to have ended up costing him.

“I was hoping to get him out of there in the first round. I keep seeing all of this, the media talking about, if it’s in the first round it’s his [Costa] fight. Anything after that, so I was really trying to prove that even in the first round it didn’t matter. But we got it done.”

During fight week the talk about Kelley seemed to be dominated by the fact that he chose to drive to Las Vegas rather than fly from his home in Louisiana which turned into a 21-hour flight.

“Yeah, jokes on ya’ll mother f*ckers! I mean they say 21 hours, I mean it was me and my crew we drove down, it was smooth. We went to Scottsdale, Arizona. I got some oxygen therapy, got some massages, carried everything with me. Shot up here 4-hour drive. Wasn’t sh*t, you know? I’ll do it every time.”

Kelley ran his fight camp in Louisiana for this fight and it seems to have made all of the difference.

“Oh it’s huge. We finally ironed everything out to be able to stay back home and there’s nothing like home, you know. Sleeping in your own bed, cooking your own food. It’s like that x-factor. Glad we dialed it in and got it in place finally.”

Kelley wants to keep it moving and active going into 2022 and he had a couple ideas for cards he wants to be on.

“I would like to fight in Texas in February or, I hear that you guys are going to Florida in April maybe? I don’t know if that’s like a little birdie or if that’s valid or not. But if it is I want Florida. Texas and Florida is a lot closer to home.”

As for an opponent? One name.

“I like the fight with Adrian Yanez. He just got a win over Randy as well so I like that matchup.”

Watch the full UFC 269 post-fight scrum with Tony Kelley above. More coverage can be found below, and on our UFC 269 page.

The post UFC 269: After Second UFC Win, Tony Kelley Wants Adrian Yanez Next appeared first on Cageside Press.

Costa was competing for the first time since a thrilling effort against Adrian Yanez back in July. After dominating the opening round, Costa was caught and finished in the second; Saturday, he’d been looking to get back in the win column Kelley, who was seeking his second straight victory inside the octagon.

Both fighters took the center of the octagon after a touch of gloves. Kelley pressured Costa right away and hit a couple of jabs. Kelley kept rushing Costa, not really landing. Kelley missed with a roundhouse kick, and Costa missed with an uppercut. Costa put Kelley against the fence in a clinch, landing some knees. Kelley landed a hook and put Costa against the fence. A couple of reversals followed, with the pair switching back and forth against the fence. The fighters broke and Kelley rushed Costa again with a couple of punches. Just over a minute left, and Kelley put him against the fence again. Both fighters exchanged knees and body punches in the clinch. The round ended with Kelley controlling Costa against the fence.

Round two started with a low kick and a high kick from Kelley. Costa was the one who clinched with Kelley this time, Kelley then reversed him against the fence. The fighters broke and move back to center, where Kelley landed another low kick followed by a high kick. Costa landed a high kick and left hand that got Kelley’s attention. Kelley clinched him and landed a knee to Costa’s body which hurt Costa. Costa dropped for a takedown, and Kelley defended. Kelley got on top of Costa and started dropping elbows, with Costa covering up. Those elbows kept on coming, causing the referee to jump in and stop the fight.

Going OFF!!! @TonyKelleyMMA just came in to get it done 😤 #UFC269 pic.twitter.com/IzMfelFGVQ

— UFC (@ufc) December 11, 2021

Costa has now dropped two straight, while Tony Kelley is now on a two-fight win streak.

Official Result: Tony Kelley def. Randy Costa by TKO (elbows) Round 2, 4:15

The post UFC 269: Tony Kelley Smashes Randy Costa for Second Round TKO Win appeared first on Cageside Press.

Kelley is set to throw down with another up-and-comer at UFC 269 on Saturday, Randy Costa.

Like many kids who got into martial arts, Kelley was a troubled youth getting into fights. But a friend was taking a jiu-jitsu class, and invited Kelley to tag along. When his pal — a “nerdy,” skinnier kid — was able to have his way with Kelley, the future UFC bantamweight had a fire lit in him. “I gotta learn this, you know? What is going on? It kind of struck my fascination.”

The Ultimate Fighter, meanwhile, showed that Kelley could have a career in fighting. His reaction to the show’s first season was “hey, you can make money fighting for a living. I’m like ‘yo, okay. Well alright, I’m already fighting people right now, so that sounds really good.'”

By 2010, Kelley, who thought he might turn out to be a musician, had taken his first amateur fight. A decade later, he made his UFC debut, where he’s 1-1 to date. “I think when you start out as an MMA fighter, this is the ultimate goal, this is the end goal for most people.” But there’s more to come for Kelley, starting with Costa this weekend.

Costa is seven years Kelley’s junior, and the Louisiana native remembers what that can be like. “Just being a little bit more fearless, and I guess reckless. Taking more risks. Just being a guy that comes forward and tries to eat, you know?”

Over the years, noted Kelley, “I think I’ve really matured mentally, also physically. I think I’m not as reckless as I used to be. Refined some elements of my game, but still have that dog in me.”

Kelley sees his upcoming opponent as a “gunslinger,” which should bring out the best in himself. “He comes out, he’s really aggressive, he’s not scared to fight, he’s trying to knock you out,” Kelley observed. “I like that. I applaud that. Because that makes me train hard, that brings the very best version of myself out. And that’s all I can ever ask for. I wanted to fight the best, and that’s why I’m in the UFC. I want to fight the best, and Randy is one of those guys. You can’t make many mistakes against a guy like Randy, because he’s going to make you pay for it— but I think he has a lot of quit in him. I don’t have any in me.”

And despite appearing on a stacked UFC 269 card, Kelley is aiming for a post-fight bonus. “I like my chances.”

Watch our full interview with UFC 269’s Tony Kelley above.

The post UFC 269: Tony Kelley Sees “A lot of Quit” in Randy Costa, But “I Don’t Have Any in Me” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Randy Costa (6-2) will face Tony Kelley (7-2) at the PPV event, set for December 11, 2021. Cageside Press confirmed the booking with a source familiar with the situation, following an initial report by MMA Fighting.

Costa was last seen in a heartbreaking loss against Adrian Yanez. In the battle of candy vs. soda (Costa is a Reese’s fan, Yanez backed Dr. Pepper), the New England native looked stellar in the opening round. The second belonged to Yanez, however, who finished Costa via TKO.

Prior to that, Costa had floored Journey Newson with a head kick KO. The 27-year old now sits at 2-2 inside the promotion.

Tony Kelley is 1-1 inside the UFC since debuting last year. He came up short in his first fight, losing a unanimous decision to Kai Kamaka III. The judges would rule in his favor in his sophomore outing against Ali AlQaisi back in October.

The fight against Randy Costa will be Kelley’s first of 2021.

UFC 269 does not yet have an official location or venue announced. The card is expected to feature the rescheduled women’s bantamweight title fight between Amanda Nunes, and potentially the lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier.

Currently confirmed are the following bouts:

Amanda Nunes (c) vs. Julianna Peña
Cody Garbrandt vs. Kai Kara-France
Gillian Robertson vs. Priscila Cachoeira
Montana De La Rosa vs. Maycee Barber
Randy Costa vs. Tony Kelley

The post Randy Costa vs. Tony Kelley Set for UFC 269 appeared first on Cageside Press.