FOUR-time judo Olympian Dan Kelly will return from the Ultimate Fighting Championship as part of the undercard at the cage-fighting event in North Albury this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Kelly’s addition to a program of two title fights is expected to fuel interest in the Australian Fight Club event.
Promoter Adam Milankovic said Kelly’s inclusion was “huge”.
“He has made a lot of noise in mixed martial arts and we released him to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship,” he said.
“But now he has come back to us and will use this as a lead-in to a middleweight title fight in July.
“Dan is a four-time judo Olympian for Australia and carries a lot of credibility in the sport.”
Title bouts — over five, five-minute rounds — are the headline acts on the card with Corey “Major” Nelson taking on Callan “The Rockstar” Potter for the welterweight belt.
The bantamweight title is a rematch that ended controversially.
“After an even fight, Gustavo Falciroli caught Kai Kara-France with a punch-knee combination, sending Kai through the ropes,” Milankovic said.
“Kai hit his head on a table outside the ring and the fight was called a no-contest.
“This time they will be fighting in a cage, something that is banned in Victoria and one of the reasons the Australian Fight Club has come to Albury.”
Milankovic is confident of a near-capacity crowd at Bunton Park on May 17.
“This is one of the best cards we have put together and we’ll drag people from Sydney and Melbourne,” he said.
“The talk around town is that everyone knows we are coming.
“Ticket sales are good at the moment but when the tent goes up so will the interest.”