MMA: No other choice but to fight Banario - Eric Kelly

If it were up to Eric Kelly, he would have wanted his first shot at the ONE FC featherweight title to not be against a fellow Filipino fighter. But in this sport, chances often come few and far between. Thus, Kelly had no other choice but to fight compatriot Honorio Banario for the ONE FC title.

“Ayaw ko sana pero ganito talaga e,” Kelly said in a phone interview with GMA News. “Yung mas masakit pa, kapwa ko taga-Baguio, kapwa ko Igorot yung lalabanan ko. Pero kung pinalampas ko ito, baka di na dumating ulit kaya kinuha ko na.”

Kelly is in the second year of his contract as a mixed martial arts trainer in Malaysia. He will headline ONE FC’s first event on 2013 dubbed as Return of Warriors, which will be held on February 2 at the state-of-the-art Stadium Putra in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

[Related: Eric Kelly to battle Honorio Banario for the ONE FC featherweight title]

To support his three kids, Kelly decided to head to Malaysia to be an MMA trainer. “Mabait naman yung boss ko dito kasi kahit nagttraining ako para sa laban ko, binibigay niya yung buwanang suweldo ko,” he said.

The undefeated Kelly is coming off an outstanding armbar submission win over Brad Terrey just last month. In that fight, Kelly suffered a severely bruised eye but the fighter said that it will not be a problem for his upcoming fight.

“Naghahanda na akong mabuti kasi alam kong mahirap na kalaban si Banario,” said Kelly. “Sa ngayon 100 percent na nakakakita yung mata ko, walang problema.” Kelly expects Banario to keep the fight on their feet as he is a skilled striker. He added that he is ready to stand toe-to-toe with Banario, but he’s also ready for a grappling match.

After going through adversity to win his last fight, Kelly said that the experience gave him valuable lessons on how to proceed with his MMA career. “Nalaman ko na may iba pa akong dapat aralin,” he said. “Dapat maging open-minded ako para mas marami pa akong matutunan.”

The fighter also wanted to clear the air on some quotes attributed to him by other media entities. “May mga nagsulat kasi na sabi ko raw mana-knockout ko si Banario,”  Kelly said. “Wala akong sinasabing ganun. Basta ako gagawin ko ang lahat para manalo sa laban.”

The fight featuring Kelly and Banario will be the main event on ONE FC: Return of Warriors, which will also feature the launch of a four-man Malaysian National Featherweight Championship Tournament to determine who the number one Featherweight Contender in Malaysia is.

“Big step ito para sa career ko,” said Kelly who will be the main event of a ONE FC card for the first time. “Malaking bagay kung maipapanalo ko para sa akin sa at pamilya ko.” - AMD, GMA News