Opportunity is knocking for Nathan Kelly, following his inclusion on the featherweight roster for the 2025 Professional Fighters League (PFL) world tournament.
Kelly (11-2) has been selected as one of the 8 fighters in the 145 lb tournament which kicks off in April following an impressive run of form. The Dublin native recently suffered his first defeat since 2018 when he was submitted by Akhmed Magomedov at the PFL's Road to Dubai: Champion's Series event in January but prior to that had been riding an 11-fight winning streak, with 7 of those victories coming under the PFL/Bellator umbrella.
Speaking to Fighters Only this week, Kelly stated his belief that the massive opportunities now landing at his doorstep are just rewards for his excellent form over the past few years.
"I felt like it had to come sooner rather than later, you know what I mean?", says the Irishman. "I'm 28 this year, I've been on a good run, apart from the last fight. But I still think, in that last fight, 9 times out of 10, I finish him in the first round. It's just that one night...that godforsaken one night, you know what I mean?...I didn't (get the finish).
"I felt like something was going to be coming my way fairly soon" says Kelly of his inclusion in the tournament. "The whole Bellator thing getting disbanded...I didn’t really know anything about that. So I thought maybe they’d keep me (because I fought a lot on Bellator leading up to this), I thought maybe they’ll keep me and help me push towards a Bellator title. Or maybe they will put me into the tournament. But I knew something was going to be coming, I just didn’t know what".
A Busy 2025 In Store For Kelly
The restructuring of the PFL tournament sees a change to a more traditional 'grand prix/straight knockout' format, as opposed to the season system that's been in use recently within the organization. The winners will have fought 3 times in total instead of 4 and the tournament will be wrapped up inside a shorter timeframe, meaning a condensed schedule for those who make it all the way to the finals.
"I'm ready for it" Kelly says confidently. "That's why I was laughing to Eduardo (Cunha Lima, Director of Fighter Relations at the PFL) because this year it's only 3 fights where normally it's 4. And I was like, 'well, I'm going to have to be the one to carry the 4 fights on their shoulders this year!', Because I've obviously fought in January and now (should I get to the final) I would have had the 3 fights over the next 6 months.
"So normally it's 4 bouts over 8 months and now it's 3 over 6. But I'll have done the 4 in 8 months if all goes accordingly, you know what I mean? But yeah, I'm looking forward to it, God willing it all goes well.
"And just the ability to have 4 paydays this year is surreal and I'm grateful and humble for the opportunity that they've given me. It's just about me going out and doing what I know I can do when I'm out there in the cage and giving the best of myself that I can give. I have a little chip on my shoulder as well now (following the loss to Magomedov), so I'm about to get in now, right my wrongs and show everyone why they gave me this opportunity".
