Edward Kelly is back in the winning column with an impressive victory over South Korea's Sung Jong Lee in the under-card of One Championship: Roots of Honor. In a competitive fight that extended to the second round, Kelly outworked Lee in front of thousands of fight fans at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. With Kelly raining punches and Lee not intelligently defending himself, referee Kemp Cheng had no choice but stop the bout, awarding Kelly a well-deserved TKO victory.
But the path to victory wasn't an easy one for the Team Lakay fighter. He was taken down by Lee in the first few seconds of the fight. He had to escape several submission attempts from the South Korean.
The first round was also marred by an illegal strike by Kelly when he kicked Lee in the head while they were both grappling on the the mat. He was given a yellow card by the referee which potentially means he might lose 10% of his purse to his opponent.
In the second round, the two picked up where they left off in the first. Lee preferred to grapple while Kelly kept his striking output. With Lee burning himself out and emptying his tank, Kelly increased his output and pressure. With Kelly working on his ground and pound and Lee covering up, referee Kemp Cheng stopped the bout.
With the TKO win, Kelly improves his record to 12-7 while Lee drops to 2-5.