IT’S an unforgiving sport, the UFC.

Just ask veteran Daniel Kelly.

After notching the biggest victory of his career — a split decision win over the legendary Rashad Evans — Kelly was knocked on his back side. Literally.

And it only took a split second for the Melbourne middleweight to fall by KO to top-contender Derek Brunson.

“Two things went wrong,” Kelly explained as he announced his next bout against Canadian Elias Theodorou at UFC Sydney.

“I misjudged his range — he had very long range — and when I backed out I turned my head away. Bang.

“It’s an unforgiving sport. Simple as that.”

Prior to the loss, Kelly was in the form of his life.

He’d collected wins over South Carolina’s Steve Montgomery, Brazilian Antonio Carlos Junior and Californian Chris Camozzi before rocking Evans at UFC 209.

media_camera Dan Kelly after his win against Chris Camozzi at UFC Melbourne. Picture: David Crosling

“It was very disappointing because I was on a good run,” Kelly said of the loss to Brunson, 1.16 into Round 1.

“I took a few weeks off and I went and coached overseas, so after a month I was back training again.

“What can you do? You dust yourself off and carry on. You can’t dwell on it and I’m not gun shy or anything in sparring.

“I just made a mistake in the fight and I paid the ultimate price.”

Brunson (No. 7) is now challenging former champion Lyoto Machida at UFC Fight Night 119 at Sao Paulo on October 28, while Kelly is aiming to re-climb the ladder.

“I don’t want to lose two in a row in the UFC,” Kelly said.

“I don’t think it’s make or break — I lose this fight and I get punted — but you don’t want to lose two in a row.

“I’ve still got things I want to achieve in the sport and you always want to come off a loss firing, so it’s important.

“It (a win) probably puts me closer to fighting a ranked opponent again.

“I’ve just got to keep progressing. I’m very busy outside of fighting as well, and if I’m going to fight against guys in the top 15, I need to clear my schedule out earlier.

“I could get away with it when I wasn’t fighting too level guys, but I need to clear my schedule for five or six weeks and just concentrate on training and give myself the best opportunity.”

media_camera Dan Kelly dominated Chris Camozzi.

Kelly, 13-2 and 6-2 in the UFC, revealed he agreed to the bout with Theodorou after a brief discussion with UFC match maker Mick Maynard.

Theodorou, 14-2, is coming off a loss to Brad Tavares at the Ultimate Fighter Finale in July, losing by unanimous decision.

“I was trying to get on a show earlier in Japan, but he said ‘nah, we want you in Sydney’,” Kelly said.

“He’s a little bit below me on some rankings and above me on others.”

Stylistically, Theodorou is a solid match-up for Kelly, who is a four-time judo Olympian.

“It’s good,” Kelly said.

“He’s awkward and he’s erratic in his movement but I don’t think he hits and kicks that hard. His grappling and wrestling his quite good.”

A veteran of the fight game, Kelly is adamant he has plenty of years left in the UFC.

“Absolutely. I’m just coming into my prime,” he joked.

“All jokes aside, I’m still good. I turn 40 in October and that’s a little bit unpleasant for me, but I’m still good to go.”

Originally published as Kelly out to make amends in Sydney