Edward Kelly is motivated to give his best when he faces ONE Hefei Bantamweight Tournament Finalist Xie Bin at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES on August 2nd at the Mall of Asia Arena, in Manila.

Kelly will be setting the pace for four other Team Lakay athletes who will share the stage with him.

“I feel a little pressure for me to do well in my next match,” Kelly said. 

“When you are performing on the same night with Eduard, Honorio, Geje, and Danny, I feel the need to do well and win. I also feel inspired because I know that I am not alone and no matter what happens, we will be there for each other.”

Kelly knows Xie Bin will test his ground game, but he also plans to test his foe with his striking. Xie Bin is currently on a roll with six wins, four of which came by submission. Kelly, though, is bent on putting a stop to that winning streak.

“Xie Bin is really a great submission athlete,” Kelly said. 

“I know that I have more experience fighting professionally than him but I am not underestimating his skills in any way. Making his opponents tap may be his strongest point but I believe that his striking is his weakness and that is where I will take the match. I just need to time my strikes accurately and prepare to defend myself from his takedowns.”

Some of Kelly’s anxiety will be alleviated once he starts to perform. He may have a tough opponent in front of him, but knowing that he has his brothers’ support his best will definitely show for the world to see.

There’s pressure in performing well against a tough opponent, but Kelly finds solace in the fact that his Team Lakay brothers are also competing on the same card.

“I’m really happy and excited to share the stage with my brothers,” Kelly said. 

“We have done a lot of things together for the longest time and to compete together in our country is just a huge boost to our morale.”

See also:

Danny Kingad’s Been Training Non-Stop For ONE Flyweight GP Semifinal