Cordilleran mixed martial arts fighter Edward Kelly didn't get the win last night when he squared off against Ev Ting at the Putra Indoor Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kelly lost to Ting in the final seconds of the second stanza when he got knocked down by a head kick. With Kelly down and nearly out on the mat, the referee put a stop to the contest at the 4:28 mark in the round.
The bout between Kelly and Ting was part of the main card for the event One Fc 21: Roar of Tigers which was headlined by a featherweight battle between Rob Lisita and Marat Gafurov.
In the first round, Kelly and Ting spent most of the time scrambling with Ting pushing Kelly against the cage. Ting scored a successful takedown but Kelly was able to make it back to his feet. Ting closed the round with a head kick that signaled what to come in the second round.
The second round was more competitive as both fighters started exchanging punches and kicks. Ting scored another takedown in the round. The end came when Ting landed a head kick which dropped Kelly to the mat. With Kelly seemingly unable to defend himself, the referee waved to signal the end of the bout.
With the win, Ting improves his record to 8 wins and 2 losses while Kelly drops down to 5 wins and 2 losses. This is the second consecutive time that Kelly lost. Both losses were under the One Fighting Championship banner. Kelly's first fight for the One FC was in December last year where he succumbed to Brazil's Herbert Burns via a rear-naked choke. Check out photos from the bout below. All photos courtesy of One Fighting Championship.
In the morning after the fight, Kelly posted on Facebook that he's okay and that he's coming back home soon. He also thanked his kababayans, friends, family, and sponsors who went all the way to Malaysia to watch his fight. He also congratulated Ting as well as thanked the One FC for giving him the opportunity to fight in the card.
Eric Kelly, Edward's older brother who also fights for One FC and is currently the number one contender in the featherweight division, also got on Facebook to say thank you to everyone who supported his younger brother. Eric is scheduled to fight next this coming December when the One FC stages another event at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. MMA fans are hoping that he will be fighting for the One FC featherweight belt which is currently held by Jadamba Narantungalag of Mongolia.
