Brian Kelleher had a late change of plans on Saturday, but that didn’t stop him from taking care of business in short order.
Kelleher (22-11 MMA, 6-4 UFC) was originally scheduled to face Kevin Natividad at UFC on ESPN+ 34 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. On the morning of the fight, Natividad was pulled from the bout due to coronavirus concerns. He was replaced by Ray Rodriguez, who signed with the UFC earlier in the week, then weighed in as a potential replacement on Friday.
That turned out to be a lot of maneuvering for a short encounter. Rodriguez 16-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC) immediately shot for a takedown, and Kelleher just as quickly turned it into a guillotine choke, for which he got the tap at the 39-second mark of the opening round.
It’s just the latest night’s work for the Long Island native, who, pandemic or no, has kept busy in 2020. This marked the fourth fight of the year for Kelleher, who has bounced between 135 pounds and 145. He’s won three of those four bouts, all of the wins coming by finish, and the past two have netted him postfight bonuses.
He’s hoping to get one more in before the year’s out.
“I’ve been a company guy,” Kelleher said. “Stepping up, taking last minute, replacement, I’m just a guy who wants to fight no matter what. so yeah I want to stay active, I want to get one more in this year. Doesn’t matter, featherweight, bantamweight.”
Check out Kelleher’s nifty submission work below.
WATCH YOUR NECK! 😳@BrianBoom135 only needs SECONDS to end it!
[ Watch on #ESPNPlus ] #UFCVegas9 pic.twitter.com/T2DKZRF5A9
— UFC (@ufc) September 6, 2020
