Fight Night 60: Kelly uses altitude to reach his peak ahead of Walsh bout

MELBOURNE UFC fighter Daniel Kelly is reviving altitude training techniques he first learned 20 years ago in a bid to win the biggest fight of his career.

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MELBOURNE UFC fighter Daniel Kelly is reviving altitude training techniques he first learned 20 years ago in a bid to win the biggest fight of his career.

Arriving in America on Wednesday for his Fight Night 60 bout with American wrestler Patrick Walsh, 37-year-old Kelly is now pushing through a rigorous campaign for the February 14 bout in Bloomfield, Colorado — which sits almost 1700m above sea level.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal the four-time Olympian’s torturous preparation mirrors those he used fighting in Colorado as a rising judo star.

“The first four days — it’s all about shocking my body,’’ Kelly said on departure. “I know from experience that, your first day at altitude, even climbing a set of stairs is tough.

“And if you’re not used to fighting at altitude, it can really mess with your mind. Leave you thinking ‘shit, I never thought I was going to feel this bad’.

“So the idea is to burn your lungs a few times. Put your body under pressure and it will respond.

Daniel Kelly celebrates his win over Luke Zachrich.

“Back in the early 90s, I competed at Colorado Springs four times. It’s only an hour up the road and so you need to prepare yourself exactly the same.”

Asked how closely he will follow his old programs, the Olympian continued: “I’ve calculated everything right down to my arrival time at 2.15pm.

“It’s been done carefully. We’ll go straight into a light session that evening followed by another three days of heavy grappling, sparring and padwork.

“After that, I’ll slip into your normal fight week preparations. We’ve planned everything out and the 10 days will be exactly enough to be ready.”

Having won his UFC debut in Sydney, Kelly must now step up again against Walsh.

Dubbed the ‘Beast of the East’, the American southpaw is a noted wrestler who was part of TUF 19, fighting under Team Edgar. With a 5-2 MMA record, he won his last bout against Ohio’s Daniel Spohn at the Ultimate Fighter Finale — Edgar v Penn.

“Despite his wrestling background, I think this fight is going to be won on our feet,’’ Kelly continued. “His wrestling and my judo, I think they will negate each other and allow us to trade.”

Originally published as Fight Night 60: Kelly uses altitude to reach his peak ahead of Walsh bout