Kelly vs Magomedov

Who won Kelly vs Magomedov?

Akhmed Magomedov beat Nathan Kelly by submission in the 2nd round during the main card of PFL Road to Dubai Champions Series, on Saturday 25th January 2025 at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Featherweight division, which meant the weight limit was 145 pounds (10.4 stone or 65.8 KG).

Kelly vs Magomedov stats

Nathan Kelly stepped into the octagon with a record of 11 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 4 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 5 by submission.

Akhmed Magomedov made his way to the cage with a record of 9 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws and 5 by submission.

This was Nathan Kelly's 3rd fight in Bellator, having made his debut for the promotion in 2022. Akhmed Magomedov marked his 2nd fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2022.

Nathan Kelly's Bellator record stood at 3-0-0, while Akhmed Magomedov's came in at 1-1-0.

The stats suggested Kelly had a massive power advantage over Magomedov, boasting a 36% knock out percentage over Magomedov's 0%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Magomedov had an advantage over Kelly, with a 56% submission rate over Kelly's 45%.

Nathan Kelly was the older man by 27 years, at 27 years old.

Kelly had a height advantage of 1 inch over Magomedov.

Kelly was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 3 more fights, and made his debut in , 7 years and 9 months earlier than Magomedov, whose first professional fight was in 2017. He had fought 6 less professional rounds, 21 to Magomedov's 27.

Kelly vs Magomedov form

Kelly had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 1 opponent and going to the judges 4 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Jose Sanchez at Bellator Champions Series: Dublin on 22nd June 2024 by submission in the 1st round at 3Arena Dublin, Dublin, United Kingdom.

Previous to that, he had beaten Vikas Singh Ruhil at Bellator Champions Series: Belfast on 22nd March 2024 by knockout in the 1st round at SSE Arena, Belfast.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Dimitry Solimeis at PFL Europe 4: 2023 Championships on 8th December 2023 by submission in the 1st round at 3Arena Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.

Before that, he was victorious against Damion Nelson at PFL Playoffs: Heavyweights & Women’s Featherweights on 18th August 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States.

He had won against Zachary Hicks at PFL Challenger Series 2023 – Week 6 on 3rd March 2023 by submission in the 1st round at Universal Studios, Orlando.

Activity check

Kelly's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 10 months and 30 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 20 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 7 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.4 rounds on average.

Magomedov's last 2 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 6 months and 11 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 3 months and 8 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 4 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

What time did Kelly vs Magomedov start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 7:10 PM UTC , which was 2:10 PM EST or 11:10 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 7:10 PM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Kelly vs Magomedov?

Nathan Kelly was a 2/1 (+200) underdog going into the contest, while Akhmed Magomedov made his way into the ring at 7/20 (-290) with oddsmakers.