Fighting Families in ONE: The Kelly Brothers

This is the story of the Kelly brothers.

Martial Arts Saved The Kelly Brothers

The Kelly brothers were part of a brood of six, to a couple of crop farmers in Baguio. As the eldest, Eric was expected to take up their parent"s profession. A life of farming didn"t appeal to the teenager and he chose to live on the streets, becoming a slacker or what is colloquially known as a “tambay".

In an interview with ONE, Eric remembers all he did was drink and hang out in bars. Nights would often get violent and he began training in kickboxing to defend himself. One of the coaches encouraged him to train with the Philippine National Wushu team where his life would finally gain direction.

Unfortunately, injuries kept him from achieving as much as his teammates and went home empty-handed. He began training again in Manila primarily with Yaw-Yan Ardigma and made his pro-MMA debut in 2009.

Eric wouldn"t go down the martial arts path alone. Though they were never close as children, Eric"s training and exploits with the National Team inspired his brother Edward to do the same.

Unlike his older brother though, he wouldn"t bounce around to find his place. Edward joined Mark Sangiao"s fledgling gym and become one of the first fighters of Team Lakay.

Rise of the Kellys

From 2007-2012, the Kelly brothers were part of Philippine MMA royalty. Eric was on an unbeaten roll with regional promotion URCC going 5-0 where he got moniker “The Natural".

Eric fought on the very first ONE event and gave Mitch Chilson his first loss. He won his next two fights in ONE as well, which gave him the chance to fight for the inaugural Featherweight belt against Honorio Banario at ONE: Return of Warriors. Though he would lose that fight when he sustained a freak eye injury after a left hook in the fourth round.

The loss was a disappointing one for The Natural and for his fans. But he proved that he could bounce back. He won his next three fights to end 2015 with a 12-1 professional record.

Edward was on the same trajectory, fighting both in the Philippines and Malaysia going 5-0 before his ONE debut. He wouldn"t get the best start like his brother did in the promotion though. Edward ate his first two losses on the international stage. But he would also bounce back and get in his groove at the start of 2016, winning all three of his fights that year.

A Ferocious Journey

Though he has yet to reach the same heights as his older brother, Edward Kelly has had a roller coaster career in ONE.

After falling to names like Herbert Burns, Ev Ting and Martin Nguyen he went on a three fight winning streak finshing Jordan Lucas, Vincent Latoel, and Sunoto. He lost to Emilio Uruttia, via Unanimous Decision, in his only appearance in 2017 and would go on the craziest run of his career.

It"s at this point that Edward might as well change his nickname to “No Middle Ground". He"s either experiencing the highest peak of highs or the lowest pit of lows, one time even experiencing both simultaneously.

His first fight in 2018 was against then undefeated Meas Meu at ONE: Global Superheroes. He knocked out the Cambodian 21 seconds in the first round in one of the most spectacular finishes ever recorded.

After that he loses to the ground and pound of Narantungalag Jadamba in ONE: Pinnacle of Power. He then wins against Christian Lee when the future Lightweight champion illegally suplexes him on his neck in ONE: Eternal Glory resulting in a disqualification.

He loses to Christian in the rematch four months later. But rebounds by ground and pounding new comer Sung Jong Lee three months after that. He then loses a technical decision to Xie Bin at ONE: Dawn of Heroes after Xie lands blows to the back of Kelly"s head.

His most recent fight was a losing bid against a surging Kai Tang who we recently included in a list of fighters that can challenge Martin Nguyen in the future. However, this loss was via Unanimous Decision which hopefully signals the end of the crazy pendulum swings Edward"s career has been taking for the last two years.

Fall of The Natural

In a cosmically twisted reversal of fortune, 2016 marked the beginning of probably the greatest fall from grace in Philippine MMA. Eric was going to fight Ev Ting at the main event of ONE: Clash of Heroes. Ting knocked out his brother Edward two years prior, so there was a small revenge story line in the narrative of the card.

Unfortunately, Ting would have both the Kelly brothers on his resume as he choked out Eric in the third round.

The Natural Loner

It"s worth noting at this time how much the nickname “The Natural" fit Eric Kelly. Even though he worked with various gyms throughout his MMA career, all the skills and techniques he brought to the cage were self-taught.

In an interview with MMA Philippines shortly after the Ting bout he said this:

Honestly, right now YouTube is my teacher. I watch videos and apply what I learned when I train. I think [going to different gyms] would help because I can adapt the skills of more fighters. Whatever I lack, I go to different gyms to cross-train.

Eric Kelly, 2016

His next fight was against former Featherweight champion Jadamba Narantungalag in the main event of ONE: Dynasty of Champions [Hefei]. He got knocked out in 44 seconds.

The issue of Eric lacking a team came up again before his fight with another former champion in Kotetsu Boku at ONE: Kings and Conquerors.

According to an interview with Tie Breaker Times, Eric already received multiple offers from various MMA groups to train with them including a personal invitation from Team Lakay coach Mark Sangiao. But, despite the losing skid, the old dog was set in his ways.

I have been doing this for the past eight years. I am still confident as to how I conduct my training. It has given me success in the past. I still believe that it will give me the success in my upcoming fight. It all boils down to discipline.

Eric Kelly, 2017

He was almost right as he dominated Boku for most of their fight. But, he gassed in the third allowing the former champion to reverse position and finish the fight with ground and pound.

Eric would continue his fall with losses to Rafael Nunes, Tetsuya Yamada, and Kwon Won Il. In the fight against Kwon he got knocked out in 19 seconds.

He got another offer to join Team Lakay this time from his brother Edward. In interviews with Spin and Tie Breaker Times, the younger Kelly holds out hope for his older brother.

Maybe, it"s time to talk to my brother[…]that"s his mentality as an older fighter. But these days, everyone is evolving. He needs a proper training camp[…]I’ve never talked to him about retirement, though I always ask about his future plans[…]I think he can get his old form back.

Edward Kelly, 2019

Eric"s last fight was against newcomer Nui Kang Kang at ONE: Legendary Quest. He lost via Unanimous Decision and was ultimately cut by the promotion.

Eric knows his best days in the cage are behind him, but longs to hang up his gloves on a win.

I want to win again. That’s all I want. I can sign with any promotion to have a farewell fight[…]I can’t end with a series of losses. I can’t go that way,

Eric Kelly, 2019

His future might be beyond fighting however, as he recently made a pitch to join The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition. If successful, it would be the perfect opportunity for Eric to turn his fortunes back around.

The Kelly brothers are a strange story of how two people can be so far apart while walking down the same road. While Edward has always been a mixed bag, Eric has a clear line separating his good times from the bad.

While the stories of these two fighters are far from over there"s no telling where the future will take them. The only hope is that they go out with an ending that they"re happy with.

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