Bigger stage now back in a familiar setting for Darragh Kelly

In the days after a win over Jelle Zeegers last September, the future was shrouded in uncertainty for Darragh Kelly.

The 'Moville Mauler' stopped Zeegers at the 3Arena, the bout stopped with 78 seconds remaining.

Kelly climbed his record to 5-0 as a professional, victory over Zeegers his fourth on a Bellator card and stretching his overall winning streak to 14 fights.

In late November, the Bellator promotion was acquired by the Professional Fighters League. The merger formed what was described as 'one of the largest and most formidable combined mixed martial arts organisations in the world'.

Kelly had a new four-fight contract with Bellator, but was unsure if PFL would honour the deal.

The 26-year-old's immediate future has been sealed and the four-fight deal starts this Saturday when he meets Mathias Poiron in a lightweight bout as part of the Bellator Champions Series at the 3Arena.

“September is a long time out of the cage,” Kelly says. “I wasn't sure if I was maybe going to be going to be going back to the local scene to fight. It's good to get the bit of security and basically now I'm hoping to get four fights in the next 18 months.”

The new promotion clearly fancies Kelly.

Saturday's card at the 3Arena in Dublin – where Kelly has fought and won four times as a pro - is headlined by Welterweight World Champion Jason Jackson (18-4) facing undefeated Ramazan Kuramagomedov (12-0).

On a 16-fight bill, Kelly is fifth from the top and will feature as part of the televised segment on Virgin Media.

“I'm on the main card this time, which is huge for me,” he says. “There are a lot of eyes going to be on the fight. DAZN are showing it in America and the UK.

“They obviously have high hopes for me when they're putting me on like that. If I can put on a good performance and get the win, it could open a few doors for me. The main thing is, obviously, getting the win and remaining undefeated for whatever amount of time that I can.

“But, this is the entertainment business too. People want to see big performances or they'll soon skip over you.

“It's all about this one now; I can't be going in there and think about what happens if I win or if I lose.”

That being said, cards at Wembley in September and the Adidas Arena in Paris in November could be possible with a victory over Poiron.

The 28-year-old, out of the Climax Fight Academy in Lyon, comes to Ireland with a 7-1 record, losing for the first time in January when he fell to Keweny Lopes in France.

“He is a big step up in competition for me,” Kelly says. “He will be a big test for sure. Poiron is very well rounded and he's very unorthodox. He went 7-0 with four KOs and three submissions. He is a finisher and he has power in his hands. I'm expecting the toughest opponent of my career this time.”

Poiron was due to face Mark Ewen in Berlin a few weeks ago, but that bout was cancelled.

Kelly, too, knows all about those road blocks.

He was set for a comeback in Belfast in March on a Bellator Champions Series Card, but a thumb injury quashed those plans.

Kelly needed surgery to repair torn ligaments after tearing the UCL during sparring and was out for seven weeks.

“I was going good after the Zeegers win,” Kelly says. “I was due to fight a guy from Miami and I was in Holland for a training camp too. I did a lot of work with some kick-boxers over a week when I was out there. I felt so good but, about a month out from the fight, I got injured.

“I was so frustrated, but these things are always going to come at you. You can always plan what you'll do if this or that happens, and then it can be very easy to feel sorry for yourself. You just have to suck it up and get on with it.

“I've been working and waiting for this fight now for a while. I'm ready.”