Nathan Kelly was sober and battling depression when he messaged Conor McGregor's coach asking him to help him turn his career around.
But an impromptu message to mixed martial arts master John Kavanagh, born of Dutch courage, would change Kelly's life.
Kelly was a 1-2 professional boxer working as a manager at Aldi at the time he faced the KO during the coronavirus lockdown.
The Irishman was drunk but couldn't get the images of a winning MMA career out of his mind.
That's when he mustered up the courage to contact Kavanagh, owner of Straight Blast Gym and best known as McGregor's head coach.
Kelly, 27, told SunSport: “I just kept picturing myself coming back and fighting.”
“I remember one night I was locked in the gaff, wallowing in self-pity and drowning in drink.
“I was sitting at home one day and I thought, 'Fuck it, I'm going to text John.'
“Because I had so many visions of fighting and coming back and I kept picturing myself doing it again and it gave me goosebumps.
“I wanted to know where these goosebumps would take me so I texted John.
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“I played a lot of games against SBG guys growing up, and John was like, 'Hey, you can come anytime,'” he said.
“So after a few weeks, I got the courage to join the team and since joining, I've been continually working to get to the same level as the other guys.”
Kelly admitted that he woke up last night, probably with a headache, realizing what he'd done.
He said: “Believe it or not, I had had some whiskey and was pretty drunk so I was like, 'Fuck it, I'll just text him,' and he was like, 'Yeah, come by anytime.'”
“The next day, I calmed down and looked at the messages and I was like, 'What the hell am I doing?'”
“But sending that message was like a subconscious act to get myself back on track.
“I was trying to resolve a lot of issues that were in my head while I was drunk, and then I had to face them when I sobered up.”
Kelly returned to MMA in August 2021 after spending a year at Cabana's gym. 9 seconds.
Our communication is concise and polite, which I think he likes.
Nathan Kelly talks about Conor McGregor
And the featherweight boxer has reaped the rewards of Kavanagh's tutelage, winning nine straight bouts since then.
Looking back, Kelly acknowledges that the decision to text Kavanagh changed her life.
He said, “I guess so, because it was my first step in the right direction.”
“I once saw a quote that said, 'A journey of a hundred thousand miles begins with a single step.'”
“It was the first step in a bigger journey that I would be a part of.”
Not only has Kelly benefited from the wisdom of John Kavanagh and Dave Roche, but he has also sparred with McGregor.
The UFC legend kept a keen eye on Kelly's career and the two formed a friendship.
He said: “I came back to the gym and he congratulated me and I said, 'I've been working on that elbow with Dave for weeks and I'm happy with it.'”
“He said, ‘I thought that sounded a bit like Dave!’ From then on, he got in touch with me and we got to know each other a little bit.
“Because I'm not the kind of person who's gonna lick his ass and beg for his stuff and be around him and try to get him to like me.
“He respected that and I think he was naturally drawn to me.
“We communicate succinctly and politely, which I think he likes.”
With Bellator coming to Ireland, Kelly will face Jose Sanchez in Dublin on Saturday.
But with Bellator merging with the Professional Fighters League, Kelly has his sights set on a $1 million season next year.
The PFL format consists of two regular season matches where points are awarded depending on how you win, followed by a playoff.
The group stage and knockout rounds will be reminiscent of the Champions League played out across Europe.
But instead of a symbolic trophy, the PFL winner will celebrate with a life-changing check for $1 million.
And Kelly said: “I want to compete in that season next year. That's the goal I set for myself in the beginning.”
