Introduction
Daniel Thomas Kelly (born 31 October 1977 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian judoka and mixed martial artist. Known for his highly aggressive and unconventional style, Kelly is currently ranked #15 in the UFC official middleweight rankings.
Judo and Olympic career
Kelly began competing in judo when he was 7 and competed at his first Australian Championships when he was 13. He made the junior national team in 1994 where he competed at the Junior World Championships and went on to make the senior national team two years later. Kelly has been Australian Champion on nine occasions.
Kelly is the only Judo competitor to have been selected to fight for Australia in four different Olympic games. He most recently competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the -100 kg event.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Kelly made his professional MMA debut in July 2006. He remained out of competition for the next six and a half years due to judo commitments.
Australian Fighting Championship and local MMA
Kelly returned to the sport in December 2012. Over the next eight months, he improved his record to 5 wins with no losses. Kelly again returned to action in the Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) in May 2014, at AFC 9, defeating Ben Kelleher via second round submission. Kelly was twice slated to fight Steven Kennedy for the vacant AFC middleweight belt in 2013 at AFC 7 and 2014 at AFC 10, but was forced to withdraw due to The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia commitments in 2013 and due to injury in 2014.
The Ultimate Fighter
In December 2013, it was announced that Kelly was selected as one of the fighters to represent Australia for the upcoming The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia. Kelly was defeated by eventual middleweight runner-up Sheldon Westcott via first round submission.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Kelly made his UFC debut against Luke Zachrich on 8 November 2014 at UFC Fight Night 55. Kelly was victorious, winning by submission due to a kimura.
In his second bout for the promotion, Kelly faced Patrick Walsh on 14 February 2015 at UFC Fight Night 60. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Kelly faced Sam Alvey on 10 May 2015 at UFC Fight Night 65. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.
Kelly was expected to face Ricardo Abreu on 15 November 2015 at UFC 193. However, Abreu pulled out of the fight in late September and was replaced by Steve Montgomery. Kelly won the fight by unanimous decision.
Kelly faced Antônio Carlos Júnior on 20 March 2016 at UFC Fight Night 85. Kelly won the bout via TKO in the third round.
Kelly next faced Chris Camozzi on 27 November 2016 at UFC Fight Night 101. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Kelly faced Rashad Evans on 4 March 2017 at UFC 209. He won the back-and-forth fight by split decision.
Kelly is expected to face Derek Brunson on 11 June 2017 at UFC Fight Night 110.
Championships and accomplishments
- Olympic Games
- 2000 Summer Olympics - Judo, 9th place (U/81 kg)
- 2004 Summer Olympics - Judo, 7th place (U/90 kg)
- 2008 Summer Olympics - Judo, 21st place (U/90 kg)
- 2012 Summer Olympics - Judo, 17th place (U/100 kg)
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 14 matches | 13 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 3 | 1 |
| By submission | 5 | 0 |
| By decision | 5 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 13–1 | Rashad Evans | Decision (split) | UFC 209 | 000000002017-03-04-00004 March 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 12–1 | Chris Camozzi | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson | 000000002016-11-27-000027 November 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Melbourne, Australia | |
| Win | 11–1 | Antônio Carlos Júnior | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir | 000000002016-03-20-000020 March 2016 | 3 | 1:36 | Brisbane, Australia | |
| Win | 10–1 | Steve Montgomery | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 193 | 000000002015-11-15-000015 November 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Melbourne, Australia | |
| Loss | 9–1 | Sam Alvey | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt | 000000002015-05-10-000010 May 2015 | 1 | 0:49 | Adelaide, Australia | |
| Win | 9–0 | Patrick Walsh | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch | 000000002015-02-14-000014 February 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | Catchweight (191.5 lbs) bout; Walsh missed weight. |
| Win | 8–0 | Luke Zachrich | Submission (kimura) | UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping | 000000002014-11-08-00008 November 2014 | 1 | 4:27 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Win | 7–0 | Ben Kelleher | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Australian Fighting Championship 9 | 000000002014-05-17-000017 May 2014 | 2 | 3:41 | Albury, Australia | |
| Win | 6–0 | Bor Bratovz | KO (punch) | Australian Fighting Championship 6 | 000000002013-08-24-000024 August 2013 | 2 | 1:42 | Melbourne, Australia | |
| Win | 5–0 | Daniel Way | Submission (armbar) | Shamrock Events: NOM 7 | 000000002013-06-22-000022 June 2013 | 1 | Melbourne, Australia | ||
| Win | 4–0 | Chris Birch | Submission (rear naked choke) | Australian Fighting Championship 5 | 000000002013-05-10-000010 May 2013 | 1 | 3:36 | Melbourne, Australia | |
| Win | 3–0 | Kym Robinson | Submission (rear naked choke) | MMA Down Under 3 | 000000002013-03-16-000016 March 2013 | 1 | 1:17 | Findon, Australia | |
| Win | 2–0 | Fabio Galeb | Decision (unanimous) | Australian Fighting Championship 4 | 000000002012-12-12-000012 December 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Melbourne, Australia | Light Heavyweight bout. |
| Win | 1–0 | Ross Dallow | TKO (thrown from the ring) | Dojo KO - Second Elimination | 000000002006-07-22-000022 July 2006 | 2 | N/A | Melbourne, Australia |
Mixed martial arts exhibition record
| Exhibition record breakdown | ||
| 1 match | 0 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 0 | 0 |
| By submission | 0 | 1 |
| By decision | 0 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Sheldon Westcott | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia | 000000002014-02-19-0000February 19, 2014 (airdate) | 1 | 0:56 | Quebec City, Quebec, Canada | Quarter-finals |