Paul Kelly triumphs in MMA comeback at Probellum 1 after six-year prison term

Former UFC fighter Paul Kelly made his long-awaited return to action at “Probellum 1: Liverpool” on Saturday night and scored a second-round stoppage win to complete a remarkable journey.

Kelly’s return came after serving a six-year prison sentence for heroin trafficking, which began when he was found guilty in 2013. Now a free man, the 35-year-old Brit affectionately known as “Tellys” returned to action in his hometown of Liverpool, England, and defeated Simone Bottino with heavy ground-and-pound in the second round of the night’s main event.

Kelly (15-5) started out in typically aggressive fashion as he threw big punches at Bottino (4-7), then attempted to lock up a guillotine when the Italian tried to shoot his way out of danger. Kelly then took his man powerfully to the mat, moved to half-guard, and roughed him up with punches and elbows before moving into full mount and unloading more powerful ground strikes.

Despite finding himself on the receiving end for much of the round, Bottino somehow escaped and briefly ended on top before Kelly took charge once more and unleashed another barrage of strikes from the top.

After a high-octane first round that unsurprisingly left him breathing hard, Kelly went back to work in Round 2 and was met by a powerful leg kick that echoed around the arena as Bottino looked to go on the offensive. The Italian then pulled guard and tried to grab a guillotine but ended up with Kelly on top once again.

This time, Bottino wouldn’t recover, as Kelly postured up and rained down a host of nasty-looking elbows before switching to punches and landing 24 unanswered shots before the referee finally stepped in to end the fight.

Officially the win came at 1:37 of Round 2. But perhaps more notable was the fact that it came seven years and six days after Kelly’s last victory – a win over Henrique Santana in U.K. promotion Ultimate Warrior Challenge.

Much has happened to Kelly since that 2013 win, but his comeback victory at Probellum marked a return to the sport he loves, in the city he loves, in front of the people he loves.

After the fight, an exhausted Kelly grabbed the mic and dropped to his knees in the center of the cage, telling the crowd how tired he was after his first professional fight in seven years.

“I’m (expletive), proper, proper (expletive),” he said, before pointing to his heart and stating, “That was that.” He then pointed to the crowd inside Liverpool’s Olympia and said, “That was all you lot being here.”

With raucous support in the stands, Kelly said there was no way he would lose his comeback fight.

“Not a (expletive) chance,” he said. “Bring a shotgun and three of your mates. I’ll beat any one of you!”

He then paid tribute to his head coach, Team Kaobon’s Colin Heron, for helping guide him back to the cage.

“What a legend that guy is,” Kelly said. “No one says it enough, and he doesn’t get the praise he deserves. I’m not going to go into the issues I had heading into this camp but, without him, there’s not a chance I would have been here.”