What About Eric The Natural Kelly

What About Eric The Natural Kelly

Published on May 14, 2012 by The Coffee Boy in ONEFC, Opinion, URCC

What about The Natural?

(Our ONE FC insider The Coffee Boy wants to see Eric The Natural Kelly back in the Cage)

Eric “The Natural” Kelly (a perfect 6 – 0), the reigning URCC Featherweight Champion, has been on the shelf since September of 2011 after his bout at ONE FC’s debut, beating Mitch Chilson of Singapore’s most well-known MMA gym, Evolve

While he hasn’t been fighting, he has been training at Muayfit with their fight team, and has been seen cornering his teammates, and helping them prepare for their bouts. He was also seen doing a bit of refereeing at Gods FC last month, alongside teammate Raymond Tiew.

He hasn’t defended his title belt yet at URCC (there are rumors flying all over the place as to why, but we will not engage in speculation unless we have fact), and has yet to fight again under the ONE FC banner.

It’s a shame, really – Eric Kelly is one of the more talented featherweight fighters in both ONE FC and the URCC. All that talent not being put to use is disappointing, and not to mention a dampening of the fans morale – “The Natural” has a strong fan base in the Philippines and around Asia.

He is known for his clean and accurate striking skills, and wicked submission talent. None of his fights have gone the distance, and he has submitted all of his opponents either by a Rear-Naked Choke, or an Achilles Lock.

We here at MMAnewsAsia want to see him compete at ONE FC 4, going down in Malaysia for the first time in June. He’s exciting, he’s a top-quality mixed martial artist, and he matches up well with a lot of people on the featherweight roster. Let’s take a look at a few possible opponents.

Bae Young Kwon

Hailing from Team Posse out of South Korea, this man has a background in Judo but is also known to enjoy keeping the fight standing, and certainly isn’t afraid to trade punches with almost anyone.

 He most recently fought back in February at ONE FC 2, defeating URCC Lightweight Champion Honorio Banario by a Rear-Naked Choke in the first round. His record stands at 7 – 2, with notable wins against Brian Choi and Kyung Ho Kang.

This is a good matchup because 1) they both have pretty similar records, and 2) they both have a knack for finishing fights quickly. Eric Kelly needs a step up in competition if he plans on climbing the ladder, and Bae Young Kwon makes a lot of sense. If this fight goes down, I predict a very technical standup fight that will ultimately end up on the ground, with someone getting TKO’d or submitted.

Donald Sanchez

Ah yes, Donald Sanchez, a fighter known for his wild stand up abilities and slick ground game, he would DEFINITELY be a great matchup for Eric Kelly. Fighting out of Fit NHB out of New Mexico, USA, he has a record of 25 – 13, and has had his fair share of wars.

He has fought the likes of Angelo Sanchez, Ryan McGillvray, Hatsu Hioki, and most recently the Japanese “Crusher”, Tatsuya Kawajiri. He has knockout power, great grappling skills, and a bunch of dangerous submissions in his arsenal. Also, he’s the current King Of The Cage Bantamweight Champion, after defeating Jamie Steichen back in March earlier this year.

I see nothing but fireworks in this matchup. Yes I hear you – Sanchez has a much longer record and yada yada yada. BUT, Eric Kelly is undefeated and is a champion, and while Donald Sanchez is a champion too, he recently lost in his bout against Kawajiri, and is definitely looking to rebound from that loss.

         Champion vs Champion, anyone?

Mitch Chilson

 At ONE FC’s debut, Eric Kelly defeated Mitch Chilson after a back and forth bout which saw Chilson getting cut early in the first round, and eventually tapping out to a Rear-Naked Choke.

 Why would I suggest this match up? Three reasons: 1) It was exciting the first time, and it would definitely be exciting a second time since ONE FC could sell it as a rematch, 2) Neither have fought since 2011, so this would be a good comeback match for both fighters, and 3) Neither have a fight announced as of yet.

 If Mitch Chilson is serious about fighting regularly for ONE FC, eventually he will want to get this loss avenged, so no better time than now. If Eric Kelly plans on fighting again, there’s no real reason why he wouldn’t accept this fight, since it’s still a tough fight for him.

Whoever it is, I don’t care – just bring Erick Kelly back. I hate to see Kelly cornering his teammates and refereeing without actually competing at all. I don’t care about the rumors and I don’t care for politics and I don’t care for wild speculation. ONE FC needs a fighter like Eric Kelly, and they would be beyond stupid to not bring him back and keep him on.

Victor Cui, bring The Natural back.