Daniel Kelly Finishes Antonio Carlos Junior With Nasty Ground & Pound
A middleweight showdown between Brazil’s Antonio Carlos Junior (5-2, 1 NC) and Australian judo specialist Daniel Kelly (11-1) took place at UFC Fight Night 85 in Brisbane.
While Junior got off to a good start, things took a turn for the worse.
Junior threw out two kicks to get the fight underway. He threw a punch and took Kelly down. “”Cara de Sapato” took the back of his opponent and looked for a rear naked choke. Junior landed some punches in an attempt to lower Kelly’s guard. With about 12 seconds left in the round, Junior went for an arm bar but time expired.
Junior ducked some punches and threw a head kick early in the second stanza. Kelly stuffed a couple of takedown attempts. A knee found the mark for “Cara de Sapato.” Kelly landed two solid left hands. Junior went for another takedown, but was kneed for his efforts. A straight right found the home for Junior. Kelly sprawled on another takedown attempt. Kelly got a hold of Junior’s back and rained down punches. The two returned to the stand up. Junior finally got his takedown and wrapped up a body triangle. Junior overcommitted and Kelly slipped out. “Cara de Sapato” appeared to roll on his right ankle as commentator Kenny Florian pointed out.
Kelly went after Junior at the start of round three with jabs. Junior connected with a knee to the body. In the clinch, Junior landed a knee low and time was called. Kelly recovered quickly and the fight resumed. A sloppy takedown attempt turned disastrous for Junior as Kelly dropped a hellstorm of strikes on his opponent for the victory.
Final Result: Daniel Kelly def. Antonio Carlos Junior via TKO (Strikes) – R3, 1:36
