Team Lakay's Edward Kelly contemplating retirement

Edward Kelly of Baguio City's Team Lakay is contemplating retirement ahead of his 21st bout as a professional mixed martial artist.

Kelly, 37, is slated to duke it out against Ahmed Faress on the undercard of ONE: Full Blast on Friday, May 28, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

"I've thought about walking away from it all, mostly due to my age. I'm not a young fighter anymore. I know this is a young man's game. I want to prove to myself that I still have it. I know I still have two to three good fights in me. I want to show the world my fighting heart," Kelly said.

"But I know retirement is just around the corner, because of my age. My mind is willing but I want to test myself and my body," he added.

Kelly, renowned for his striking prowess, previously held the fastest knockout in ONE Championship's featherweight history with a 21-second demolition of Meas Meul in 2018.

He went 2-4 in his last six fights after that night and is coming off back-to-back defeats. He consulted the thought of hanging it up with his teammates and they were able to spot some flaws in his game that can perhaps get him back in the winning column.

"To be honest, I've gone back and forth with my coach and my team. They said I was too tense in my fights and that drained a lot of my stamina," he said.

"We worked a lot on fixing that. It's a big weakness, but I want to show that I've overcome that. I want to show the best Edward Kelly in the circle."

With his fighting career at stake in his next fight, Kelly vowed to leave no stone unturned against his next foe.

"Faress is a good opponent. I take nothing away from him. But I do question his fighting spirit. I think that's where Team Lakay fighters have the advantage. We go out there and put it all on the line," he said.

—MGP, GMA News