Former welterweight and current Wolfslair product Paul Kelly (8-1) is finally making the drop to 155-pounds to lock horns with The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 contestant Roli Delgado (6-3-1) at UFC 99 from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany on June 13, according to a MySpace bulletin from Delgado.
"Tellys" told the UFC following his thrilling three-round victory over Troy Mandaloniz at UFC 95 "Sanchez vs. Stevenson" that his next fight would be in the lightweight division for the simple fact that it would only require a ten pound cut — mere child’s play by today’s standards.
Here's a snip:
"I’m definitely dropping to 155-pounds now, it makes sense. I was eating a big breakfast on the morning of the weigh-in (for UFC 95). While everyone else is dying to make weight, I’m sitting there with a big bowl of muesli and a glass of orange juice.
Kelly has made a home fighting on the UFC cards overseas — each of his other three fights for the promotion have also taken place across the pond.
He may need every ounce of that experience to overcome "McBlack-Belt."
Delgado made a very underwhelming impression during his time on TUF 8. After losing in the show's opening elimination round, he was granted a second chance to join the squad after Brian McLaughlin got scratched due to injury.
"The Crazy Cuban" came up on the wrong end of a split-decision loss to resident bad-boy Junie Browning later in the show, but managed to capitalize on one last opportunity at the TUF 8 Finale by submitting John Polakowski via guillotine choke.
If he can string together back-to-back wins, especially over a competitor like Kelly, he may secure himself a future on the UFC lightweight roster.
UFC 99 is expected to be headlined by former middleweight champion Rich "Ace" Franklin taking on ex-PRIDE smashing machine Wanderlei Silva in his middleweight debut. Heath Herring and Cain Velasquez as well as Mike Swick and Ben Saunders are also expected to hook ‘em up.
For more on UFC 99 click here.
Get the latest gear
