Tony Kelley

Tony Kelley (137.5: Missed Weight) vs. Adrian Yanez
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Yanez (-320), Kelley (+250)

Round 1
A rivalry as old as time immemorial will kick off the main card, when proud Texan Yanez (15-3, 4-0 UFC) throws down with Louisiana’s own Kelley (8-2, 2-1 UFC) – and the latter has been in the headlines again not for his fight but for his words as of late. Yanez will hope to punch him in it repeatedly, and look to add another knockout to his already eight-fight win streak with six stoppages due to strikes along he way. Kelley, however, has never been finishes, so something’s gotta give here in this catchweight contest – a contest now taking place at 138 pounds due to Kelley missing weight. There is ample bad blood ahead of this one, and there is no interest at all in a glove touch. Referee Kerry Hatley will have to be on his A game here. Kelley strikes first with a kick to the body, and he goes high with one to the head. Both are blocked, so Kelley leaps in the air with a flying knee. Yanez nearly intercepts him like Fedor Emelianenko against Andrei Arlovski, and Kelley falls to the ground. Kelley scrambles back up, unhurt from the strike, and he finds himself moving back when Yanez comes towards him calmly. Yanez times a body kick when Kelley throws a punch, with the kick reaching while the punch comes up short. The Texan swats away a low kick and a punch or two, and he comes out swinging with an overhand right. Kelley has a body kick left out too long, allowing Yanez to come over the top with a pair of hooks. Kelley stabs his toes in the midsection with a kick, and Yanez is there to target the body with a stiff punch. Yanez freezes Kelley with one punch, and Kelley gathers himself and starts working the body with kicks from both legs and a step-in elbow. Kelley stays busy with front kicks down the middle, and Yanez pushes through one to score three punches. Yanez times a front kick so that he can smash Kelley with a left hook, and Kelley is stunned. Yanez unleashes a quick flurry of punches to knock Kelley back to the fence, and Kelley takes them well but still absorbs several of them flush. Yanez gets rocked with a counter elbow, cutting open a spot near his nose. Yanez gathers himself and throws back to counter a kick, and Kelley is stung again.
The Texan releases a lengthy barrage of punches that knock Kelley around, and he clubs Kelley behind the guard and sends the Louisiana native down to the mat on his knees. Kelley, barely conscious, tries to sit up, but his hands are down. This allows Yanez to unload bombs on an unguarded head, and a few more put Kelley out.
Hatley steps in mid-combination, and Yanez still manages to connect with one more blow that puts Kelley on his back, down for good. Kelley tries to get up, and he trips Hatley up. Hatley is able to catch himself, and he turns himself around to then catch Kelley, who is about to fall towards his stool, clearly still hurt badly. Yanez wants to keep going, clearly incensed by Kelley’s behavior, and Hatley has to back him off several times. Yanez, who is now on a five-fight UFC win streak, cools down and takes a bow in front of the crowd, which showers him in the loudest cheers in the building thus far tonight.

The Official Result
Adrian Yanez def. Tony Kelley R1 3:49 via TKO (Punches)

Kai Kamaka III vs. Tony Kelley

Round 1
It’s fight night once again for the UFC, in the form of a pay-per-view card with a heavyweight championship rubber match on tap for the marquee billing. We kick things off in the featherweight division between two UFC newcomers, as Kamaka III (7-2, 0-0 UFC) tries to become another victorious Hawaiian on the roster against Team Alpha Male product Kelley (5-1, 0-0 UFC). Referee Chris Tognoni will oversee the card-opening matchup, and with a touch of gloves, away we go! Kelley throws out a few jabs and a low kick right out of the gate. He flings a front kick, and then tries to step in with a one-two but gets countered. A quick jab from the Louisiana native halts the offense of his opponent for a moment, but Kamaka gathers himself and swings back hard. Kelley blocks it and dances out of the way, and tries to blitz forward, only to get countered with a short left hook. Kamaka lands another left hook, and Kelley responds with a pair of thudding leg kicks that make Kamaka turn his lead leg. The Hawaiian returns fire with a few punches that get Kelley’s attention, and they start trading heavy leather. Kelley targets the leg on the inside and out, while Kamaka is more interested in headhunting with solid success. He lands a right hand that makes Kelley crash in to score a knee up the middle, and backs off to stick him with a jab. Kelley connects with a left, but Kamaka pops him with that same effective left hook to back Kelley against the fence. Kamaka unloads on him with a few punches and a pounding body kick that gives Kelley some serious pause. Kelley resets on the outside, and lands a few shots when he comes in, but Kamaka gives it right back to him. An inside left kick from Kelley is followed by a left and a body kick, but Kamaka winds up and cracks him with a few punches to make Kelley retreat. Kamaka rushes him and presses him to the fence, where scoops up the leg and sets him down. Kelley gets back up, but Kamaka is not done yet as he keeps targeting the midsection with powerful punches and kicks. Kamaka does some damage with his punches, sending Kelley reeling. Kamaka keeps advancing and bulldozes his opponent over, only for Kelley to try to return to his feet by grabbing the fence. He is unable to return to a standing position, and Kamaka steps into his guard and lands some short ground-and-pound. Kelley walks up the fence, and he rips a few knees as Kamaka lumps up the body to end the round.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Kamaka
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Kamaka
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Kamaka

Round 2
Kelley keeps his distance in the early going, attempting to stick his man with jabs while staying on the outside to avoid counters. Kelley lazily paws out a jab, and Kamaka sits down on a leg kick and nearly sets Kelley down. Kelley keeps his footing and tries to go for a sweep, but he cannot get it as Kamaka dodges it only to bear down on him. Kamaka lands a few punches that back Kelley away, and every body shot Kamaka connects with seems to make Kelley drops his hands a fraction of an inch. When the hands are lowered, Kamaka takes a low kick but goes over the top with a right hand. Kamaka mixes it up and lands a punch to the torso that nearly forces Kelley to double over. “Primetime” gathers himself and tries to get some kicks off to gain separation, but Kamaka ignores them and scores a left to the body. Kamaka blocks a punch and lands two punches down the middle, and his body work is drawing visible reactions out of his opponent. Kelley, who may be hurt, bites down his mouthpiece and starts to slug it out with “The Fighting Hawaiian.” They keep trading heavy shots, with Kelley taking advantage of his surprising burst of offense, so Kamaka changes levels and hits a quick double leg takedown to halt it. Kelley again grabs the fence to try to get back up, and Tognoni warns Kelley but he still is able to walk up the cage wall. One exchange or possibly a clash of heads has opened up a cut high on Kelley’s forehead, but he pays it no mind as he is more concerned with stuffing the subsequent takedown attempt and break free in the clinch. Kamaka scoops him back up and drops him down, planting the Team Alpha Male fighter on the ground for a moment. Kelley springs back up and in close proximity to his opponent, he hacks at him with several elbows. Kamaka shoots low for a double, and Kelley defends with elbows to the side of the head until the horn sounds.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Kelley
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Kelley
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Kamaka

Round 3
They greet one another in the center of the cage with a glove touch, and Kelley quickly fires off a low kick. Kelley is a man possessed, and he starts unloading a series of damaging elbows to wobble Kamaka for a moment. As he pours it on, Kamaka closes in, so Kelley pulls guard for a guillotine choke but slides out. Kamaka winds up in top position in his opponent’s guard in the center of the cage, and rains down shots. Kelley is able to scoot his way to the fence, but Kelley drags him back down and takes his opponent’s back on the way up. Kelley is able to burst free, and the two get right back to it by going punch-for-punch. They stand in front of one another in a proverbial phone booth and start nailing each other, with Kelley stinging him with some knees and elbows while Kamaka punches to the body and the head. Kamaka, who is not getting the better of these brief slugfests, shoots in low for a double, but Kelley stuffs it and punches him repeatedly. Kelley stands him up and slashes at him with a pair of elbows, which forces Kamaka to back off. Once more, the action is furious as they blast each other in close quarters, and a knee from Kelley clanks off the cup to force a brief stoppage. Kamaka takes advantage of all the time necessary to get his wind back, which is something more fighters have done in a crowdless environment. Kamaka signals that he can continue, and with 90 seconds left, it still may be anybody’s fight. Kelley tries to get some jabs off, but a crisp one-two comes back at him from Kamaka. When Kamaka over-extends himself, Kelley sets up a Thai clinch and knees him to the body several times. Kelley ducks down for a body shot, as Kamaka fires back over the top at him. Kamaka dings him with a check left hook twice as Kelley is trying to come in, and Kelley nearly falls over in his final assault. Kamaka digs to the body with a stern left hand in the midst of a combination, and Kelley walks through it like a zombie. One second before the final buzzer, both land a punch at the same time, and this close thriller is now over.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Kelley (29-28 Kelley)
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Kelley (29-28 Kelley)
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Kamaka (30-27 Kamaka)

The Official Result
Kai Kamaka III def. Tony Kelley via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)