Filipino featherweight Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly is beaming with confidence ahead of what he expects to be an electric striking contest at ONE: AGE OF DRAGONS.
On 16 November, Kelly restarts his climb atop the featherweight division when he takes on hometown boy Tang Kai at the Cadillac Arena in Beijing, China.
This will be Kelly’s fourth battle this year after going 1-2 in his previous three bouts. With that in mind, “The Ferocious” wants nothing more than to end the year with a statement.
“Now that the match is nearing, I am more relaxed in training, and the focus now is studying the game plan and staying in shape so I’m ready for this match,” Kelly said.
“I really want to maximize this opportunity because my previous bout was disappointing. I know that Tang Kai is strong and determined but I am confident that I will get the win in this match.”
Both men can end their showdown with just a single blow, so fans at the 19,000-seater multi-purpose indoor arena should be on the edge of their seats from the opening bell.
Known as one of the most explosive finishers in the 70.3-kilogram division, Kelly has scored half of his wins by knockout or TKO.
The 35-year-old Baguio City native also once owned the record for the fastest knockout in ONE featherweight division after finishing Meas Meu of Cambodia in just 21 seconds at ONE: GLOBAL SUPERHEROES in Manila back in January last year.
On the other hand, Tang is on a nine-match knockout streak that started back in April 2016. Tang made his ONE Championship debut at ONE: HEROES ASCENT in Manila last January where he scored a first-round TKO win over Sung Jong Lee.
“We watched his previous bouts and all I can say is that he really has power. He’s a heavy hitter, but I believe that I can use that to his advantage,” Kelly said.
“I also worked on my takedown defense and ground, but I still expect this to be a striking battle. Let’s just see who executes their game plan to perfection.”
Seeing their similarities, the Team Lakay veteran believes that it will be his experience that will tow him to the win.
“I have fought the best and the strongest strikers in the featherweight division, so facing another strong opponent is not a problem for me,” Kelly said.
“I believe that my experience will be a huge factor in our match in Beijing.”
ONE Championship returns this Saturday, 16 November for ONE: AGE OF DRAGONS in Beijing, China.
The prelims start on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the ONE Super App at 5:00pm Philippine Standard Time (PHT). The main card starts at 6:30 p.m.
Also, ABS-CBN S+A will show the main card on a same-day delay at 11:00pm PHT.
