MOVILLE man Darragh Kelly will represent Ireland at the IMMAF World Cup in September.
The recently-crowned Clan Wars lightweight champion will travel to Prague as Ireland’s number 1 seed, at 70kgs.
The tournament is Kelly’s latest step on what he hopes is the road to the UFC.
“Representing your country is something that I’ve dreamed of doing so I’m excited to represent Ireland,” he said.
“I want to try and bring that gold home.
“I’m looking forward to taking the leap into the wider rankings now as I’m ranked number 1 in the UK and Irish scene so it’ll be good to push it out that bit further.”
Last month, Kelly defeated Solomon Simon via a round two submission to capture the lightweight title at Clan Wars 39.
After winning the featherweight title last February with a stoppage of Carl Gallagher he signed with John Kavanagh’s Straight Blast Gym and overcame Abdullghahar Tajik in Germany.
He has already outlined his professional ambitions and that remains his aim as he gears up for Prague on September 8.
He said: “This is my sole focus now and early next year I’ll enter the pro ranks to start my journey towards the UFC.
“That’s my plan. I’m focussing on this now. I’ve never been on the Irish team before and this is going to be a massive jump in competition.”
On the competition, IMMAF President, Kerrith Brown, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer another competition platform to our athletes, as we return to play, and are grateful for the opportunity afforded to us by the Czech Association of MMA and by the Czech National Sports Agency.
“As well as providing increased opportunities for competition for existing national teams, we hope the series will extend the chance to a wider pool of athletes, further expanding IMMAF’s talent pool and its competitiveness.”
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