How an eight-hour training day helped to prime Darragh Kelly for latest test

When Darragh Kelly touched down in Reykjavík in the summer, there was no time for rest.

Kelly came out of a June win over Andre Ferreira and the Moville man had to get to work swiftly. Bellator 299 loomed on the horizon and this weekend he clashes with Jelle Zeegers at the 3Arena.

At Mjölnir MMA in Reykjavík, Kelly teamed up with the likes of UFC’s 19-5 welterweight Gunnar Nelson. The Canadian wrestling coach Matt Millar was another Kelly spent as many hours as possible with.

“The first day, I trained for eight hours,” Kelly says ahead of his latest pro bout in Dublin on Saturday evening. “I went to Iceland for a wee break from the norm, to mix it up a bit.

Darragh Kelly has UFC dream with Bellator future uncertain 

Professional Fighters League (PFL) was said to have been close to an agreement to acquire the Viacom-owned Bellator, but in recent days those talks are said to have broken down.

“It was very beneficial for me. Working with Gunnar and Matt was brilliant. I picked their brains as much as possible. Matt stayed back after every class for an hour.

“That eight-hour day one was unreal. It was four two-hour sessions with wee breaks in between. I always feel that I have a few things to work on and the wrestling and grappling has been something I’ve been working on a lot. I’ve been trying to figure out any wee problems and I just went to Iceland with the mindset of improving that side of my game.”

This will be Kelly’s fourth fight at the 3Arena. Wins over Junior Morgan, Kye Stevens and Dorval Jordan have given him the perfect start to his professional career.

With the very future of the Bellator promotion now the subject of intense speculation, Kelly’s own immediate route is shrouded in uncertainty. Talks between the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and Bellator have been reported to have broken down and some have even suggested that Bellator could cease completely after its November promotion in Chicago.

Kelly, though, has a job to do - the importance of which is perhaps added to given that free agency could follow.

He said: “The lads in Iceland were very good in facilitating me. I feel all around that this now is the best version of myself. I’m comfortable all over now.

“It’s one thing improving in the gym and another showing it in the cage - but that’s just what I have to do. This is now my fourth time in the 3Arena and when I get in around the Gibson Hotel and the 3Arena on fight week, it’ll be a familiar feeling.”

Dutchman Zeegers has a 2-2 record and has been inactive since a November 2021 defeat to Ahmad Abbas at the Fair FC 11 show in Bochum, Germany.

Zeegers is an active kickboxer and Kelly expects to face a tricky customer.

He said: “I have seen him in his kickboxing and he’s very aggressive. I’d say he’ll be the most aggressive opponent that I’ll have faced. He’ll come in with a lot of wide hooks, I think. He’s got a lot of knockouts: five as an amateur, one as a pro and a hell of a lot in kickboxing. I have to treat this guy with respect.

“But I just have to shine in here. I feel that I haven’t showed the best of myself. I don’t feel that I’ve shown myself off too well in my last few fights so it’s time that I changed that. I have learned a lot, but I have to show it now. It takes so long to be at a part of the game where you can pull it off in an arena with 10,000 people watching. I’ve been in the 3Arena so many times now there’s now reason now that I can’t perform.”

In June, a second round d’arce choke earned Kelly a win over Ferreira in Belfast and the Clan Wars lightweight belt along with it.

The 25-year-old is on a 13-win streak dating back to a round 1 stoppage, via guillotine choke, of Ruairi Kennedy at the Longtower Community Centre in Derry a little under six years ago.

He said: “It’s taken a lot of work to get here. As long as I can stay unbeaten now and make it a memorable one I’ll leave myself in a good place after the weekend.”