Kelly vs Sanchez

Who won Kelly vs Sanchez?

Nathan Kelly beat Jose Sanchez by submission in the 1st round during the prelims of Bellator Champions Series, on Saturday 22nd June 2024 at 3Arena Dublin in Dublin.

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 Sanchez stats

Nathan Kelly stepped into the octagon with a record of 10 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 4 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 4 by submission.

Jose Sanchez made his way to the cage with a record of 10 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 2 of those wins coming by knock out and 5 by submission.

This was Nathan Kelly's 3rd fight in Bellator, having made his debut for the promotion in 2022. Jose Sanchez 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 Jose Sanchez's came in at 0-2-0.

The stats suggested Kelly had an advantage in power over Sanchez, with a 40% knock out percentage over Sanchez's 20%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Sanchez had a slight advantage over Kelly, with a 50% submission rate over Kelly's 40%.

Nathan Kelly was the older man by 28 years, at 28 years old.

Sanchez had a height advantage of 1 inch over Kelly.

Kelly was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 1 more fights, and made his debut in , 9 years and 2 months earlier than Sanchez, whose first professional fight was in 2016. He had fought 18 less professional rounds, 22 to Sanchez's 40.

Kelly vs Sanchez 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 before this contest, he had won against Vikas Singh Ruhil at Bellator Champions Series: Belfast on 22nd March 2024 by knockout in the 1st round at SSE Arena, Belfast, United Kingdom.

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

Going into that contest, he had defeated 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.

Before that, he was victorious against Zachary Hicks at PFL Challenger Series 2023 – Week 6 on 3rd March 2023 by submission in the 1st round at Universal Studios, Orlando.

He had won against Ben Ellis at PFL 2022 #8 on 13th August 2022 by submission in the 1st round at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, United Kingdom.

Activity check

Kelly's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 9 months and 28 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 25 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 7 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Kelly vs Sanchez?

Nathan Kelly was a 1/10 (-1000) favourite going into the contest, while Jose Sanchez made his way into the ring at 6/1 (+630) with oddsmakers.