Brian Kelleher approaching last fight of deal ‘like my UFC debut’
Brian Kelleher will do something on Jan. 18 he hadn’t done in all of 2019: compete inside the hallowed Octagon.
“Boom” will face newcomer Ode Osbourne at UFC 246. The event takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be headlined by a welterweight bout between the returning Conor McGregor and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Kelleher checked in with MyMMANews.com to discuss his return to action for the first time since December 2018, what 2019 was like without competing in the Octagon, how he used the time off to his advantage, sharing a fight card with McGregor, things he was dealing with heading into his most recent fight with Montel Jackson at UFC 232, recovering from an injury, getting some work in at Factory X and the potential to do his camp there (which didn’t end up happening following the interview), feeling like his back is against the wall, hitting up former two-time world boxing champion Shannon Briggs about walking him to the Octagon for the fight and much more.
In addition, Kelleher revealed that this will be the last fight on his current contract and he’s treating it like his Octagon debut.
“No, I didn’t really care [who the opponent was],” Kelleher explained to MyMMANews.com. “In my opinion, no matter who I fight, I gotta go make a statement. The truth is this is the last fight on my deal. I’m coming off of two losses, but I think the UFC likes me. They like the way that I fight, they like my style, but you’ve got to keep that up. You’ve got to stay consistent. I think the injury, and the loss to Montel kind of hurt me as far as their perception of me, but I have an exciting opponent across the cage from me. He’s debuting and I’ve got experience on my side, but I’m gonna go in there and fight like I’ve never fought in the UFC and this is my debut as well.”
Check out the full interview with Brian Kelleher as he prepares to face Ode Osbourne at UFC 246 in the video above.
