Brian Kelleher May Test Free Agency: “Eddie Alvarez Always Talks About” It
Brian Kelleher wants to discover his worth.
Kelleher was last seen in action at UFC Vegas 9, defeating Ray Rodriguez by first-round submission. The UFC standout has one fight left on his current UFC contract and Kelleher may test free agency when that fight is completed.
“At this point, I think I’m becoming a fan favorite and a veteran and a mainstay, but I’m always tempted to fight out my contract just to really see where my worth is and become a free agent like I know Eddie Alvarez always talks about,” Kelleher said on The A-Side live chat (via Alexander K. Lee of MMA Fighting). “It seems like management never wants to do that – they’re never on that page. They’re like, ‘No, no, no, trust me, let’s re-sign. Let’s get locked in, and it’s the safest bet.’ I’m like, alright, I don’t know.”
Kelleher holds a 6-4-0 record in the UFC (22-11-0 overall) while being unranked at both bantamweight and featherweight. While Kelleher plans on returning to bantamweight in the UFC, one thing that concerns the fighter is how his body will react to the weight cuts.
“I’m worried about getting back down to bantamweight, because my body’s changed over this course of time with the quarantine and the whole first couple of months of not training properly,” Kelleher said. “Now, there’s a couple more guys and it’s a little better with sparring and everything like that, but my body adjusted in a weird way where I’m just, like, thicker naturally, and I can’t get under 155. It’s so hard, no matter what I do. That’s 20 pounds over still, so I gotta make some adjustments.”
There is no word yet on when Kelleher, who has won three of his last four in the UFC, will fight again.
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