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UFC veteran Daniel Kelly makes emotional plea for Adelaide swan song
TIME is running out for Daniel and Erik Kelly.
The fight game is drawing to a rapid close for dad Daniel, while Erik is putting up a brave fight with a deadly illness.
That’s why Daniel, a four-time judo Olympian and 10-fight veteran of the UFC, wants a swan song.
And the Melburnian is desperate for his ailing son Erik to be part of his final journey to the octagon.
“I just want one more fight,” Daniel pleaded.
“I want one more opportunity so that Erik can walk out with me.
“I’ve been against it in the past, but I saw Mark Hunt’s son walk about with him in Perth, I see Jake Matthews walk out with his dad Mick and the relationship that Jim Crute and his dad Gary have got and I think it would be great for Erik to experience that with me.
“I’ve had some really good fights in Australia and the crowds have got behind me, so I think it would be good for everyone to see me one last time.”
Erik, a 12-year-old high school student, has a kidney-killing disease.
But he won’t let it define him.
Diagnosed when he was an infant, Erik needs medication for cystinosis, a rare disease that attacks the kidneys, eyes, liver, muscles, pancreas, brain and white blood cells.
Without specific treatment, children with cystinosis develop end-stage kidney failure about age nine.
Erik already needs a transplant, but continues to attack life head on.
Daniel knows he could outlive his son, but he is determined to cherish every moment.
And to stride to the octagon in front of a packed house at Adelaide Entertainment Centre on December 2 would be the highlight of his career.
“He has a hard time in life and it’s hard yakka for him, but I’d like to do it,” Daniel said.
“I broached it with him and he said ‘I don’t want to be in the way’ and I said ‘you won’t be in the way, mate, I want you there’.
“I want to share that moment with him. My youngest boy is too young, he’s only eight, but I want to share this with Erik and I think it would be a good experience for him as well.
“I’m an emotional guy as well, but it would be very, very special.”
Make it happen Maynard.
Cummings vs Kelly.
TIME is running out for Daniel and Erik Kelly.
The fight game is drawing to a rapid close for dad Daniel, while Erik is putting up a brave fight with a deadly illness.
That’s why Daniel, a four-time judo Olympian and 10-fight veteran of the UFC, wants a swan song.
And the Melburnian is desperate for his ailing son Erik to be part of his final journey to the octagon.
“I just want one more fight,” Daniel pleaded.
“I want one more opportunity so that Erik can walk out with me.
“I’ve been against it in the past, but I saw Mark Hunt’s son walk about with him in Perth, I see Jake Matthews walk out with his dad Mick and the relationship that Jim Crute and his dad Gary have got and I think it would be great for Erik to experience that with me.
“I’ve had some really good fights in Australia and the crowds have got behind me, so I think it would be good for everyone to see me one last time.”
Erik, a 12-year-old high school student, has a kidney-killing disease.
But he won’t let it define him.
Diagnosed when he was an infant, Erik needs medication for cystinosis, a rare disease that attacks the kidneys, eyes, liver, muscles, pancreas, brain and white blood cells.
Without specific treatment, children with cystinosis develop end-stage kidney failure about age nine.
Erik already needs a transplant, but continues to attack life head on.
Daniel knows he could outlive his son, but he is determined to cherish every moment.
And to stride to the octagon in front of a packed house at Adelaide Entertainment Centre on December 2 would be the highlight of his career.
“He has a hard time in life and it’s hard yakka for him, but I’d like to do it,” Daniel said.
“I broached it with him and he said ‘I don’t want to be in the way’ and I said ‘you won’t be in the way, mate, I want you there’.
“I want to share that moment with him. My youngest boy is too young, he’s only eight, but I want to share this with Erik and I think it would be a good experience for him as well.
“I’m an emotional guy as well, but it would be very, very special.”
Make it happen Maynard.
Cummings vs Kelly.
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