Paul Kelly

Having been active at the gym and studying nutrition during his prison sentence, Kelly returned to the regional mixed martial arts competition at Probellum 1: Liverpool on 7 March 2020. Kelly faced Simone Bottino, winning the bout in the second round via technical knockout.

There has been an ongoing feud between Kelly and Richard Griffin over the last few weeks which has resulted in them being booked to fight at UCMMA 31. They were having a disagreement over a fight that Richard Griffin and Ross Pointon had in the Dominican Republic that was recently posted on the UCMMA Facebook page. Kelly stated that he thought Griffin was lucky in his fight with Pointon and that "The Real Deal" would win that match-up 9 times out of ten. Griffin felt disrespected and fired back with some insults of his own, which including jabs at Kelly being dropped by the UFC. Both men then called for a fight in the cage to settle the matter, in which Dave O’Donnell decided to approach both men to arrange the fight.

Kelly defeated Troy Mandaloniz at UFC 95. Kelly battered Mandaloniz from top position throughout the fight. He opened cuts above both of Mandaloniz's eyes with elbows and punches. The judges scored the fight (30–27, 30–27, 30–28) for a unanimous decision for Kelly.

This was then intended to be followed up with a fight against Jacob Volkmann at the UFC 116 prelims, on 3 July. However, the fight was moved on 1 August, to the UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko card due to visa issues forcing him out of the 116 card. Volkmann went on to defeat Kelly via unanimous decision (all judges scoring the bout 30–27).

In May 2013, Kelly was found guilty of heroin trafficking in the United Kingdom and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. However, Kelly was put on work release in 2017 and had completed his sentence and thus released in May 2019. During his work release, Kelly started a healthy eating restaurant in Liverpool.

Kelly was expected to face Sam Stout on 5 February 2011, at UFC 126, but Stout was forced from the bout with an injury and replaced by Donald Cerrone. Kelly lost to Cerrone via submission due to a rear-naked choke. Although he lost, the performance earned him and Cerrone Fight of the Night honors.

Kelly was expected to fight at Legacy FC 9 on 16 December 2011 against Jeff Rexroad. However, Kelly pulled out of the fight due to visa issues and has been replaced by Efrain Escudero, However, Efrain was resigned to the UFC, causing him to withdraw from the bout.

Kelly was expected to face Gabe Ruediger on 20 November 2010, at UFC 123. However, Ruediger was forced out of the bout with a groin injury. Ruediger was replaced by TUF 12 competitor TJ O'Brien. After initially struggling to hit O'Brien's chin, due to the height disadvantage, Kelly was able to connect and dropped O'Brien with a combination. Later in the second round, Kelly secured a crucifix and hit O'Brien with multiple elbows, resulting in a TKO stoppage.

Kelly had his first child, a daughter named Phoebe in June 2008.

Paul Anthony Kelly (born 12 September 1984) is an English mixed martial artist who is best known for his nine fight stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.