Kelly vs Hicks

Who won Kelly vs Hicks?

Nathan Kelly beat Zachary Hicks by submission in the 1st round during the co-main event of PFL Challenger Series 2023 – Week 6, on Friday 3rd March 2023 at Universal Studios in Orlando.

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 Hicks stats

Nathan Kelly stepped into the octagon with a record of 6 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 2 by submission.

Zachary Hicks made his way to the cage with a record of 8 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws and 5 by submission.

This was Nathan Kelly's 5th fight in the PFL, having made his debut for the promotion in 2022. Zachary Hicks marked his 2nd fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2023.

Nathan Kelly's PFL record stood at 4-1-0, while Zachary Hicks' came in at 0-2-0.

The stats suggested Kelly had a massive power advantage over Hicks, boasting a 50% knock out percentage over Hicks' 0%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Hicks had a large advantage over Kelly, boasting a 63% submission rate over Kelly's 33%.

Nathan Kelly was the younger man by 8 years, at 27 years old.

Kelly was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 4 fewer fights, and made his debut in , 10 years and 10 months earlier than Hicks, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 10 less professional rounds, 21 to Hicks' 31.

Kelly vs Hicks 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 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 2 years and 23 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 30 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 Hicks?

Nathan Kelly was a 2/11 (-560) favourite going into the contest, while Zachary Hicks made his way into the ring at 7/2 (+350) with oddsmakers.