Brian Kelleher: No Questioning My Skills, Heart

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Brian Kelleher on Wednesday in Jacksonville, Florida, will step inside the cage for his 31st professional bout when he meets the unbeaten Hunter Azure at UFC Fight Night 171. Despite Kelleher’s track record and the fact that he has faced stern opposition—Marlon Vera, Julio Arce and John Lineker, for instance—throughout his career, Azure seems unimpressed. In a recent interview with Sherdog.com, he claimed he could beat Kelleher “anywhere” and questioned the New Yorker’s “heart” and cardio.”

“The guy says he’s better than me everywhere, this and that,” Kelleher told Sherdog. “First off, he’s got the wrestling background. I watched the [Brad] Katona fight. He’s the wrestler, [and] he got taken down over and over. Yeah, he’s good at getting up to his feet, but he doesn’t seem to be going for any submissions, doesn’t seem to be trying to finish these fights. He seems to throw two punches out of everything you have in a repertoire. He throws a lot of hooks. He throws one-off kicks. He keeps his hands down. I don’t know if I’m giving him too much information but, hey, I think I have the more well-rounded skill set.”

In this exclusive interview, Kelleher discussed his forthcoming fight and the difficulty of navigating the situation at home in Long Island, New York—an area seriously impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. He also touched on the safety measures the Ultimate Fighting Championship plans to employ with fighters and coaches, his passion for hip-hop, the joy he gets from rapping and the possibility of creating diss tracks for future opponents.