The struggles continue for local mixed martial arts legend Eric “The Natural” Kelly.
For the fifth straight time, Kelly, a native of Baguio City, was stopped in a contest, this time tapping out to Tetsuya Yamada in the first round, Sunday evening at the Jakarta Convention Center in Indonesia.
Kelly has yet to win since his unanimous decision victory over Hiroshige Tanaka back in October, 2015.
Both competitors traded kicks to start the match. But when “MMA Fantasista” charged forward, Kelly surprised him with an overhand right, which caused the Japanese warrior to slow.
“The Natural” tried to pressure Yamada with more strikes, but the Japanese athlete caught a low kick, put his adversary on the ground, and took his back. As Kelly scrambled to defend, Yamada rained down punches.
Despite his best efforts, the Filipino could not recover from the bad spot he was in, and was eventually trapped in a deep rear-naked choke. He was forced to tap out at 3:00 of the first round.
Later in ONE: Grit and Glory, Rome Trinidad absorbed a similar fate as Indonesian Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol was able to pick up her third win of the calendar year after submitting the Filipina in the first round.
Trinidad was fearless in the early going. The Filipina came out looking to show off her striking, but when the opening presented itself, she pushed forward to look for a body lock against the cage.
The change in positions backfired, as Gaol grabbed onto her neck for a guillotine choke, but did not immediately fall into the submission on the ground. Instead, the Jakarta native was patient. She maintained control of the neck until she was able to turn Trinidad towards the cage and torque the submission.
The hold forced “The Rebel” to fall to the ground in an attempt to alleviate the pressure, but Gaol had no intention of letting go until she secured the finish.
A moment later, with the Indonesian tightening her vise-like grip on her, Trinidad was forced to tap. The finish came at 2:27 of the opening round.
Trinidad was fearless in the early going. The Filipina came out looking to show off her striking, but when the opening presented itself, she pushed forward to look for a body lock against the cage.
The change in positions backfired, as Gaol grabbed onto her neck for a guillotine choke, but did not immediately fall into the submission on the ground. Instead, the Jakarta native was patient. She maintained control of the neck until she was able to turn Trinidad towards the cage and torque the submission.
The hold forced “The Rebel” to fall to the ground in an attempt to alleviate the pressure, but Gaol had no intention of letting go until she secured the finish.
A moment later, with the Indonesian tightening her vise-like grip on her, Trinidad was forced to tap. The finish came at 2:27 of the opening round.
ONE: Grit and Glory results
May 12, 2018 – Jakarta Convention Center, Indonesia
Women’s Atomweight bout: Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol defeats Rome Trinidad by Submission (Guillotine) at 2:27 minutes of round 1
Catchweight bout (72.0kg): Tetsuya Yamada defeats Eric Kelly by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:00 minutes of round 1
Story and Photos from ONEFC.com
