Footscray Resilience Training Centre’s Daniel Kelly has wiped the smile off the face of cocky American Patrick Walsh in a unanimous-decision win at the UFC Fight Night in the Rocky realms of Colorado on Saturday night.
Kelly’s fight was on the main card, beamed worldwide to millions of mixed martial arts fans, but he remained composed throughout a three-round bout that went the distance to impress the judges, who scored the fight 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.
Kelly, 37, looked like a man on a mission, displaying a calm exterior and an expressionless face in the walkout, while Walsh, 11 years his younger, lapped up the attention, a smile beaming from ear to ear, and the cheeky grin was still evident when the first punches were thrown.
Walsh was the more aggressive fighter in the first round and a take-down in the dying seconds had him going to the corner with a pep in his step.
Kelly regrouped for the second round, taking control of the fight, landing the more significant blows and at a higher volume to go on and win the fight.
The bout was largely battled on their feet, which is a surprise considering Kelly is a four-time Olympic judo player and Walsh was a top college wrestler.
Kelly, who wore a knee brace, didn’t need to call on his judo skills as no ground war was waged.
Despite going in as underdog on the Vegas odds and giving up height and reach, Kelly will return home with an undefeated nine-win MMA record and can again be proud of his efforts in representing his home town and his nation on the world stage.
