Team Lakay will now have four athletes to represent the country at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES as Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly became the latest edition to the already-stacked card.
Kelly will be joining Eduard “Landslide” Folayang, Danny “The King” Kingad and Honorio “The Rock” Banario as the Team Lakay athletes who will be bannering the flag when The Home OF Martial Arts returns to Manila this 2 August at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Kelly will battle ONE Hefei Bantamweight Tournament Finalist Xie “The Striker” Bin of China in a three-round featherweight showdown which could propel himself back to the mix of contenders in the division.
“I am really excited for this match. I have to admit, there’s always a nervous feeling when you fight here,” said Kelly.
“But even back then, I wanted to just keep on fighting. I was really happy when I heard that I’ll be fighting again and it’s here in Manila.”
This will be Kelly’s third appearance inside the ONE Circle this 2019 after splitting his first two assignments to start the year.
Back in January, Kelly suffered a first-round TKO loss against the current ONE Lightweight World Champion Christian “The Warrior” Lee of Singapore in a rematch at ONE: ETERNAL GLORY in Indonesia.
But the 35-year-old Baguio City native bounced back strong, scoring an impressive second-round TKO victory over Sung Jong Lee of South Korea at ONE: ROOTS OF HONOR in Manila last April.
Now, Kelly looks to make it two in a row, in the hopes of making one more push to World Title contention.
“This is a very important fight for me,” shared Kelly. “I really need to get this victory cause I know this will get me back to World Title contention.
Training non-stop since winning more than two months ago, Kelly stated that he is more motivated and inspired now to train given that three of his teammates will also be competing on the same card.
As tiring as their routines are, Kelly doesn’t seem to mind as they continue to push each other to be in tiptop shape for this event.
“Everything is just enjoyable, the feeling of training everyday is lighter cause we all want to be at our best on August 2, that’s where our focus are,” said Kelly.
“For me, it certainly adds to my confidence.”
Standing in Kelly’s way is Xie who owns an impressive record of 7-2.
The 21-year-old Chinese prospect has won his last six matches and has shown tremendous potential to make an impact on the global stage with his versatile game.
In his last outing last April, Xie submitted Ahmad Qais Jasoor of Afghanistan by D’Arce choke in the second round.
“He’s an all around athlete. Whoever’s more determined to win, will take the victory,” said Kelly. “I know within myself that I am more determined.”