Daniel Thomas Kelly (born 31 October 1977) is an Australian former

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. Known for his unconventional style, the four-time judo Olympian formerly competed in the

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC) between 2014 and 2018.

Background and judo 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 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in the -100 kg event. He was the Judo coach for the Australian team at the

2016 Rio Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

and the 2020 Japan Olympics.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Kelly made his professional

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

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 Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) was an Australian mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation based in Melbourne. In 2013, AFC was described as Australia's leading MMA organisation by MMA Kanvas and was part of Sherdog's list of top 50 global ...

(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 Sheldon Westcott (born August 10, 1985) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is also known for being a contestant and finalist on The Ultimate Fighter for Te ...

via first round submission.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

2014

Kelly made his UFC debut against

Luke Zachrich Luke Zachrich (born December 19, 1981) is a retired American mixed martial artist and professional boxer who formerly competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship A professional mixed martial arts competitor since ...

on 8 November 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 55 ''UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 55'', or ''UFC Fight Night Sydney'') was a mixed martial arts event held at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia on November 8, 2014. Background This event was the fou ...

. 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 ''UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 60'') was a mixed martial arts event held on February 14, 2015, at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. Background The event was the third that the UFC has hosted a ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

2015

Kelly faced

Sam Alvey Sam Alvey (born May 6, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the current Karate Combat Heavyweight Champion. A professional MMA competi ...

on 10 May 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 65 ''UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 65'') was a mixed martial arts event held on May 10, 2015 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, Australia. Background The event was the first that the promotion h ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Kelly was expected to face Ricardo Abreu on 15 November 2015 at

UFC 193 ''UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm'' was a mixed martial arts event held on November 14, 2015, at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. It was the most attended UFC event in the history of the company at the time, with 56,214 people filling the stadiu ...

. However, Abreu pulled out of the fight in late September and was replaced by Steve Montgomery. Kelly won the fight by unanimous decision.

2016

Kelly faced

Antônio Carlos Júnior Antônio Carlos Coelho de Figueiredo Barbosa Júnior (born 16 March 1990), also known as Antônio Carlos Jr. and professionally by his nickname Cara de Sapato (as well as its English translation Shoeface), is a Brazilian mixed martial artist wh ...

on 20 March 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 85 ''UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 85'') was a mixed martial arts event held on March 20, 2016, at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia. Background The event was the second that the promotion ...

. Kelly won the bout via TKO in the third round. Kelly next faced

Chris Camozzi Christopher Allen Camozzi (born November 20, 1986) is an American professional Glory (kickboxing), Glory kickboxer, mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer. He currently competes for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship ...

on 27 November 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 101 ''UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 101'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 27, 2016, at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. Background Thi ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

2017

Kelly faced

Rashad Evans Rashad Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division. Evans started his professional MMA career in 2003, and was the Heavyw ...

on 4 March 2017 at

UFC 209 ''UFC 209: Woodley vs. Thompson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 4, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Background The event was ...

. He won the back-and-forth fight by split decision. Kelly faced

Derek Brunson Derek T. Brunson (born January 4, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). He is most notable for his 21 fight tenure in the Ultimate Fightin ...

on 11 June 2017 at

UFC Fight Night 110 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Hunt'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 110'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on 11 June 2017 at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. Background The event was ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Kelly faced

Elias Theodorou Elias Theodorou (May 31, 1988 – September 11, 2022) was a Canadian mixed martial artist. He competed for the UFC in the Middleweight division where he was ranked 13th until his release, and won '' The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Austr ...

on 19 November 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

2018

Kelly faced

Tom Breese Tom Breese (born 26 September 1991) is an English mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2010, he formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Profession ...

on 27 May 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 130 ''UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 130'' or ''UFC Liverpool'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the UFC that was held on May 27, 2018, at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. Background The event w ...

. He lost the fight via technical knock out in round one. Kelly became a free agent after the fight.

Championships and accomplishments

Judo

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

— 9th place ( 81 kg) **

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

— 7th place ( 90 kg) **

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

— 21st place ( 90 kg) **

— 17th place ( 100 kg)

Mixed martial arts

**UFC.com Awards ***2017: Ranked #3 Upset of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 13–4 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:33 ,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–2 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Hunt , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:16 ,

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 ,

, Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:36 ,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Steve Montgomery , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:49 ,

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Patrick Walsh , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county located in the United States, U.S. Colorado, state of Colorado. It has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sect ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 ,

, Submission (kimura) , UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:27 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , , Ben Kelleher , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Australian FC 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:41 ,

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Bor Bratovž , KO (punch) , Australian FC 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:42 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Daniel Way , Submission (armbar) , Shamrock Events: Night of Mayhem 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Chris Birch , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Australian FC 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:36 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Kym Robinson , Submission (rear-naked choke) , MMA Downunder 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:17 , Findon, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Fabio Galeb , Decision (unanimous) , Australian FC 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Ross Dallow , TKO (thrown from the ring) , Dojo KO: Second Elimination , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

, Australia ,

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

, Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia , (airdate) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:56 ,

Quebec City, Quebec Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, Canada ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Dan 1977 births Living people Martial artists from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (state) Australian male judoka Olympic judoka for Australia Australian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Judoka at the 2000 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2008 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2012 Summer Olympics Australian male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Background and judo career

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Australian Fighting Championship and local MMA

The Ultimate Fighter

Ultimate Fighting Championship

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Championships and accomplishments

Judo

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

See also

References

External links