Darragh Kelly aims to hit back in style

Darragh Kelly wants to hit back in style this weekend.

The 'Moville Mauler' (2-0) faces Frenchman Dorval Jordan (2-2) as part of Bellator 291 at the 3Arena.

Kelly last fought when he defeated Kye Stevens in September via decision and the reflections on that bout have taught him some valuable lessons.

Since then, Kelly spent some time in Iceland working alongside MMA star Gunanr Nelson and his coaches.

There, he honed in on some of the finer aspects of his performance when analysing the Stevens fight.

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“It’s a smarter approach now and I can’t go in and try to blow him out of the water,” Kelly said.

“When I went to Iceland, they said I should have slow-cooked Stevens. Basically, wear him down and then go.

“I will still come with the same intensity and pressure this weekend, but there'll be nothing rushed. It will be more calculated now, I'll pick my shots to do the damage.”

Kelly had cut a frustrated figure in the immediate aftermath of his win over Stevens.

The 24-year-old had a brief holiday in Tenerife, but his head has been down working over the last five months.

“I've done a good job patching up the holes,” he said. “This has been a long run-in. We've known about this fight for a long time and it's been on my mind ever since.

“It's been good to have a good spell like this and I really feel as if I have improved.”

Kelly, who is trained by John Cavanagh at SBG Dublin, debuted at the 3Arena when stopping Junior Morgan in the opening round before going the distance with Stevens.

Kelly said: “I was too rushed and inefficient with my energy. I was just sloppy in that last fight.

“I've done a lot of work on my striking and for the first time in my career I am noticing big improvements.

“It's about working now on knowing when to pull the trigger. It's fighting smarter now; more calculated.”

His last two fights were at lightweight, but this weekend Kelly drops down 10lbs to go at featherweight.

“It's been five months of hard work and dieting,” Kelly said. “Training isn't fun and 90 per cent of the time it's f****** hard work.

“After dropping the weight, the fun part is fighting in front of 10,000 people.”

Kelly believes the drop in weight will stand to him by the time he takes to the cage on Saturday night.

He said: “Everything has been down to a tee with what I'm eating and when I'm eating. Once I hit the mark at the weigh-in, I'll be back up a good few pounds. I'll be carrying a good bit of muscle for the weight.”