UFC 197’s Chris Kelades confident he’ll stop ‘pretty’ Sergio Pettis

UFC flyweight Chris Kelades spoke to Bloody Elbow about his upcoming fight with Sergio Pettis, as well as his thoughts on an Ultimate Fighter season potentially deciding who got to fight for his division’s title belt.

Coming off a split decision victory over Chris Beal last August, Chris ‘The Greek Assassin’ Kelades is feeling confident going into this weekend’s clash with Sergio Pettis on the undercard of UFC 197: Jones vs. Saint Preux.

The Canadian flyweight revealed to Bloody Elbow that he’s “fully expecting” to finish the younger Pettis on Saturday night.

He’s been touched before, and he drops, and he’s been submitted, so I don’t know, it’s up to him.–Chris Kelades

Asked how he sees the stoppage coming, Kelades answered, “He’s been touched before, and he drops, and he’s been submitted, so I don’t know, it’s up to him.”

Though he’s bullish on his chances against the 15th ranked Pettis, Kelades is happy to praise the Roufusport product’s skills and pedigree.

“He’s a very talented striker, pretty good all-round, and he’s put together some good wins in the UFC,” said Kelades. “He’s a pretty fighter, so I’m very excited for this, he’s got a lot of eyes on him so it’s a good opportunity for myself.”

When pressed to explain what he meant in calling Pettis ‘pretty’, Kelades offered, “I mean, everybody wants to be as good as they can, but sometimes I think you just gotta bite down and do things that are a little more gritty.”

The 9-2 Kelades described his own fighting style as “more blue collar”, but admitted that – like all fighters – he was working hard to make himself as technically sound as possible.

In hopes of achieving this goal, Kelades has been continuing to train at American Top Team. His previous training camp, for the Chris Beal fight, was his first with the south Florida super camp.

The Nova Scotian has been living in the dorms of ATT’s new facility since the New Year and Kelades is delighted with the set-up. However, he does admit to missing the frigid shores of Atlantic Canada.

“It’s been good,” said Kaledes. “There’s been a lot of guys coming and going, you get to meet people from all over the world, and it’s definitely been a grind mentally to be here for so long, away from home, but I think it’s definitely something that is gonna pay off, not only in this fight, but for the upcoming fights as well.”

Kelades, who will be cornered by ATT fixture Din Thomas this weekend, made the move to Coconut Creek, in part, because it guaranteed ample opportunities to train with similarly sized individuals.

“Your timing is different when you go against bigger guys [in the gym],” stated Kelades. “My speed is the fastest [with them], but when you’re going against guys that are your size, you realize you’re not the fastest and you have to kind of tighten things up. So it’s been good to establish better habits and skills.”

A large portion of Kelades’ focus during this training camp has been dedicated to trying to correct his tendency to start slow, like he did in his split decision victory over Beal. Kelades associates this quirk with being “too game” at the opening bell and claimed that this over aggressiveness can lead to mistakes. After identifying that this habit was a product of mental preparation, Kelades is satisfied that the issue has been overcome and that he will be more than prepared for the opening moments of his UFC 197 bout.

With slow starts cleansed from his game, Kelades stands a better chance of reaching his goal for 2016: cracking the UFC’s flyweight rankings.

Despite not currently being ranked or positioned for a run at Demetrious Johnson’s crown, Kelades was nonetheless bemused by recent reports that the winner of a forthcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter would receive a shot at 125lb gold.

It’s kinda disrespectful to the division, but also the champ. –Chris Kelades

“It’s kinda disrespectful to the division, but also the champ,” said Kelades, who thinks the title shot might have since been dropped from the TUF24 winner’s package. “To do it that way, it just kinda makes it into a circus more than an actual legitimate competition. You’ve got rankings and you’ve got guys who are working their ass off for a reason.”

When the UFC announced their plans for the season, some fans – and media members – had hoped that the series would feature established UFC flyweights vying for a title fight. If that were the case, Kelades says you can sign him up.

“Any way to advance my career and have an opportunity to go further in the sport, I’m definitely game for it,” said Kelades. “So, we’ll have to sit back and see whether they did like a Comeback season, in that case I thought that made sense.”

For now at least, it seems Kelades will have to climb the ladder the old fashioned way.

You can follow Chris Kelades on twitter @keladesmma

UFC flyweight Chris Kelades spoke to Bloody Elbow about his upcoming fight with Sergio Pettis, as well as his thoughts on an Ultimate Fighter season potentially deciding who got to fight for his division’s title belt.

Coming off a split decision victory over Chris Beal last August, Chris ‘The Greek Assassin’ Kelades is feeling confident going into this weekend’s clash with Sergio Pettis on the undercard of UFC 197: Jones vs. Saint Preux.

The Canadian flyweight revealed to Bloody Elbow that he’s “fully expecting” to finish the younger Pettis on Saturday night.

He’s been touched before, and he drops, and he’s been submitted, so I don’t know, it’s up to him.–Chris Kelades

Asked how he sees the stoppage coming, Kelades answered, “He’s been touched before, and he drops, and he’s been submitted, so I don’t know, it’s up to him.”

Though he’s bullish on his chances against the 15th ranked Pettis, Kelades is happy to praise the Roufusport product’s skills and pedigree.

“He’s a very talented striker, pretty good all-round, and he’s put together some good wins in the UFC,” said Kelades. “He’s a pretty fighter, so I’m very excited for this, he’s got a lot of eyes on him so it’s a good opportunity for myself.”

When pressed to explain what he meant in calling Pettis ‘pretty’, Kelades offered, “I mean, everybody wants to be as good as they can, but sometimes I think you just gotta bite down and do things that are a little more gritty.”

The 9-2 Kelades described his own fighting style as “more blue collar”, but admitted that – like all fighters – he was working hard to make himself as technically sound as possible.

In hopes of achieving this goal, Kelades has been continuing to train at American Top Team. His previous training camp, for the Chris Beal fight, was his first with the south Florida super camp.

The Nova Scotian has been living in the dorms of ATT’s new facility since the New Year and Kelades is delighted with the set-up. However, he does admit to missing the frigid shores of Atlantic Canada.

“It’s been good,” said Kaledes. “There’s been a lot of guys coming and going, you get to meet people from all over the world, and it’s definitely been a grind mentally to be here for so long, away from home, but I think it’s definitely something that is gonna pay off, not only in this fight, but for the upcoming fights as well.”

Kelades, who will be cornered by ATT fixture Din Thomas this weekend, made the move to Coconut Creek, in part, because it guaranteed ample opportunities to train with similarly sized individuals.

“Your timing is different when you go against bigger guys [in the gym],” stated Kelades. “My speed is the fastest [with them], but when you’re going against guys that are your size, you realize you’re not the fastest and you have to kind of tighten things up. So it’s been good to establish better habits and skills.”

A large portion of Kelades’ focus during this training camp has been dedicated to trying to correct his tendency to start slow, like he did in his split decision victory over Beal. Kelades associates this quirk with being “too game” at the opening bell and claimed that this over aggressiveness can lead to mistakes. After identifying that this habit was a product of mental preparation, Kelades is satisfied that the issue has been overcome and that he will be more than prepared for the opening moments of his UFC 197 bout.

With slow starts cleansed from his game, Kelades stands a better chance of reaching his goal for 2016: cracking the UFC’s flyweight rankings.

Despite not currently being ranked or positioned for a run at Demetrious Johnson’s crown, Kelades was nonetheless bemused by recent reports that the winner of a forthcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter would receive a shot at 125lb gold.

It’s kinda disrespectful to the division, but also the champ. –Chris Kelades

“It’s kinda disrespectful to the division, but also the champ,” said Kelades, who thinks the title shot might have since been dropped from the TUF24 winner’s package. “To do it that way, it just kinda makes it into a circus more than an actual legitimate competition. You’ve got rankings and you’ve got guys who are working their ass off for a reason.”

When the UFC announced their plans for the season, some fans – and media members – had hoped that the series would feature established UFC flyweights vying for a title fight. If that were the case, Kelades says you can sign him up.

“Any way to advance my career and have an opportunity to go further in the sport, I’m definitely game for it,” said Kelades. “So, we’ll have to sit back and see whether they did like a Comeback season, in that case I thought that made sense.”

For now at least, it seems Kelades will have to climb the ladder the old fashioned way.

You can follow Chris Kelades on twitter @keladesmma