Former UFC fighter Paul Kelly gets opponent for MMA return at Probellum 1

In mid-January, former UFC fighter Paul Kelly announced his return to MMA after serving a seven-year sentence for heroin trafficking.

While the date and event he’d compete on, March 7 at Probellum 1, has been public for a while, Kelly (14-5) was opponent-less throughout much of his training camp.

However, that’s changed. In a social media post Tuesday, the promotion announced Kelly’s challenger: Simone Bottino. Italy’s Bottino (4-6) has won three out of his most recent four outings.

The matchup will take place at welterweight and serve as the card’s main event.

Kelly competed in the UFC from 2008-2011. “Tellys” made his promotional debut at UFC 80 in January 2008. In his first UFC outing, Kelly defeated Paul Taylor by unanimous decision.

In October 2008 at UFC 89, Kelly was submitted by Marcus Davis. Following the defeat, Kelly picked up back-to-back wins over Troy Mandaloniz and Roli Delgado.

After being bowled over by an infamous Dennis Siver spinning back kick in November 2009 at UFC 105, Kelly went 2-1 in 2011. In his final UFC fight, he served as the first octagon opponent for Donald Cerrone. After a controversial punch during the opening glove touch, Kelly was submitted by rear-naked choke in the second round of their UFC 126 showdown in February 2011.

After his UFC release, Kelly went 2-1 in smaller organizations.

The walk to the cage at Liverpool Olympia likely will be a raucous one. Deeply embedded in the English MMA community, Kelly’s domestic fanbase is still massive.

“I think it’s going to go off its nuts,” Kelly, 35, recently told MMA Junkie. “I am who I am. I got nicked for drugs, but everyone in the (expletive) city sells drugs. That’s what it’s known for. They need to air it live in this prison system. They’ve got so many channels in jail. The prison system will go off its rockers.