Credit: Newsbreak.com
After ‘Boom-otine’ win at UFC 246, Brian Kelleher looking for ‘best deal’ in free agency
Brian Kelleher told MyMMANews.com heading into his fight with Ode Osbourne that he was about to compete on the last fight on his current UFC contract. With feeling like his back was against the wall, Kelleher approached the fight in a different way — not as if it was the last fight on his deal, but his first fight in the UFC.
“Boom” used that thought process throughout the week and, with his back seemingly against the wall, delivered a “Performance of the Night” award winning first-round submission victory over Osbourne at UFC 246. The event took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Following the win, Kelleher joined MyMMANews.com to recap the festivities. The 33-year-old Kelleher discussed how important his mental approach was throughout the camp and the fight week itself, how he was able to block out the pressure and not let it get to him, hearing some of the things Osbourne was saying in interviews heading into the fight, how the fight began in an unorthodox way, what he said to Osbourne after the fight, everything lining up perfectly throughout the entire week, his reaction to getting bumped up to the main card, crystals and more.
In addition, Kelleher talked about stepping into free agency for the first time and how he plans on approaching it. In an ideal situation, Kelleher would like to re-sign with the UFC and return in April at UFC 249 in Brooklyn. However, Kelleher is open to other options if the deal is right.
“That’s the vision right there,” Kelleher told MyMMANews.com about his hopes to fight in Brooklyn. “I hope everything works out perfect and I hope we get the deal that we want from the UFC because I do prefer to stay with the UFC, obviously. But you’ve got to take the best deal that’s offered. So we’ll see what happens. That’s the beauty of free agency. I’ve never been in this position in my career and I remember Eddie Alvarez talking about this, and how this is the best spot to be in as a fighter; coming off of a win and being in free agency, you find out what your true worth is. Here I am! We’ll see what happens.”
Check out the full interview with the victorious Brian Kelleher coming off of his first-round submission win over Ode Osbourne this past weekend at UFC 246 in the video above.
