Brian Kelleher Talks UFC Release, Eyes PFL or BKFC if He Keeps Fighting

UFC veteran Brian "Boom" Kelleher can't see himself working a 9 to 5 job, details what's next after 17 fights in the Octagon.

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Brian Kelleher is on the fence about fighting again following his UFC release.

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A familiar face from the bantamweight division, Kelleher fought 17 times in the UFC and was never one to take an easy fight, facing the likes of Umar Nurmagomedov, Mario Bautista, and former champ Cody Garbrandt on his way out of the premier promotion, which came with a loss to 'The Ultimate Fighter' finalist Cody Gibson in July.

Initial Reaction To UFC Release

Kelleher's one of a few dozen fighters to be released from the UFC roster recently, assuming that was the case after being taken out of the drug testing pool.

"Getting an email actually was like, how I first found out, which kind of sucked," Kelleher told MMA Knockout regarding the news of his UFC release earlier this month. "It was just scrolling through there, I saw Drug Free Sport email me, and I'm like, man, hopefully, usually it tells you you pass your test, but it said that I was removed from the drug testing pool, and I kind of put two and two together. That was the first thing I heard.

❌ Fighter removed: Brian Kelleher

— UFC Roster Tracker (@RosterTracker) October 9, 2024

"Then, my manager had reached out the next morning and kind of told me the news, and I wasn't really shocked because I had known that I was coming off a bunch of losses in a row."

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Kelleher: "I'm Blessed To Have Lived This Dream"

There's no hard feelings between Kelleher and the UFC, where he signed to in 2017, thankful for the opportunity to compete in the premier promotion for so many years against ex-champions and contenders alike after fighting tooth-and-nail to get there.

"They gave me plenty of chances, so I'm thankful for that. I kind of wish I can go back now that I reflect on my career and, and change a few things, but you can't really sit in your sorrows for too long, so you kind of got to just move on and figure it out.

"It's easy in this moment to kind of feel sad and upset about how things played out recently, but if I do reflect on my career in a more positive light, I'm blessed to have lived this dream and to have fought for the UFC, which was every fighter's dream growing up, trying to win fights and chase this dream and get to the pinnacle of the sport."

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Career Crossroads

Having spent seven years in the UFC and eligible for a sum of money as a result of the recent UFC antitrust lawsuit (Le vs. Zuffa), Kelleher's unsure where to go from here, knowing fighting isn't forever.

"I'm kind of at a crossroads now," the 38 year-old fighter said. "I don't really like to think about age as too much. I really would like to focus on just like, how I feel and how I'm performing in the gym and stuff like that.

"At this point in my life, I don't really know anything else besides fighting. Being a regular person working like a 9 to 5 is like the scariest thing to me and kind of hard to just adjust to and be like, oh, I'm just going to get a job now and be normal and live that life. I just can't see myself doing it."

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"It's hard to figure out like what's next, to be honest with you," Kelleher said, after contemplating MMA coaching. "It leads me to think I want to continue fighting because that's all I know. But I'm also honest with myself and like, you can't do this forever, you know? As I get older, I think about my health, I think about my future more and more. You wonder, should I just take this as a sign, like, it's over, or should I try to keep getting paydays from another promotion?"

Post-UFC Kelleher Name-Drops PFL & BKFC

Kelleher's got options if he continues to fight on and they're not just in MMA. Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) has attracted many ex-UFC fighters as has the PFL with the allure of their million-dollar tournaments.

"PFL, Bare Knuckle, like I don't know which route I want to go or what's the best, but if I can get in the PFL tournament somehow and try to win the million, like, that would be life changing and that would be worth it to me to continue to go through this," Kelleher said. "But other than that, it's like just to take one-off fights and get paid. Like half of what I was making in the UFC is kind of like, do I want to do that?"

"Things Can Move Fast For You In BKFC" - Conor McGregor Collab?

A fighter with a hidden talent for rapping, I asked Kelleher if he could see himself linking up with Conor McGregor and his new record label 'Greenback Records', now that he's a part-owner in BKFC, another potential avenue for "Boom".

"Since [McGregor is] partnered up with Bare Knuckle, I feel like that company is just completely exploding, taking off and it's only going to get bigger and bigger with him backing it. His level of star power and the things that he creates, this record label and stuff, I just feel like if you can go in [BKFC], be impressive in front of him and market yourself and do the right things and make the right call-outs, like things can move fast for you," Kelleher continued.

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A post shared by Brian “BOOM” Kelleher (@brianboom135)

"If I could win a bare-knuckle fight and like spit some bars on the mic or something and show my skills there, maybe he likes that and he takes me under his wing or something with the record company and make some music, that would be cool. Hopefully I can make that happen. But we'll see what happens. Bare Knuckle is scary with the cuts and everything, but it does interest me and it is different than MMA, so it might be something I look into."

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