Eurosport - Wed, 04 Feb 13:35:00 2009
Follow British welterweight Paul Kelly as he builds up to a UFC 95 fight against Troy Mandaloniz at London's O2 Arena on February 21.
Liverpool's Paul Kelly is coming off a submission loss to Marcus Davis at UFC 89, a first defeat in MMA which spoils his 7-0 record.
All-action Kelly, fighting out of Mike Bisping and Rampage Jackson's Wolfslair gym, is keen to put the disappointing defeat behind him and get his promising career back on track.
The Hawaiian-based 'Rude Boy' Mandaloniz returns to action for the first time in more than a year, following time off after he defeated Richie Hightower via first-round TKO in December 2007.
Paul will be keeping Eurosport-Yahoo! up-to-date with his preparations and thoughts in the build up to what should be an intriguing fight.
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My defeat to Marcus Davis was a huge kick in the ass. It has really opened my eyes as a fighter.
Although I was unbeaten going into the fight, I didn't see that as any sort of weight on my shoulders. I know that MMA isn't like boxing; you just don't get unbeaten records for any length of time in MMA.
I wasn't annoyed about losing my unbeaten record to Marcus. These things happen. What really p****d me off was that I got beat in a fight where I completely ignored my game plan.
It wasn't my style to get involved in a fight like that. No disrespect to Marcus, because I know he is a really smart, clever fighter. He did exactly what he wanted to; he controlled the distance, worked the angles, bounced in and out and then caught me with a choke.
But I should never have let him dictate the fight like that. I am not being a sore loser here, but if I had that fight over again and if I fought my own style, then I'm sure I could win.
Why I decided to change my style is beyond me. It should have been a brilliant stand-up war, and I tried to be too clever and beat him at his own game.
Losing a fight like that on the big stage was a massive ball ache. Afterwards, I didn't speak to anyone for two weeks. I just sat around, eating Ben and Jerry's ice-cream, putting on a load of weight.
And then it really opened my eyes, what a great chance I have. I am doing something I love, on the biggest stage in the world. And I have a family and a new daughter to support.
I thought: 'There's no way I'm going to throw this away.'
So I got back in the gym and started knuckling down again. I think I am training smarter for this fight against Troy Mandaloniz than I did against Marcus.
I think my training camp was too long for the last fight, so I have cut it down from 15 weeks to seven or eight.
I think I'm going to be peaking at the right time, and be in a better mental shape as I won't have been away from my family for so long. I am training for six or seven hours a day and fitness-wise I feel a million dollars at the moment.
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WAR TELLYS!
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