Background
Skelly was born in Bedford, Texas, but moved to Pennsylvania at a young age.
Skelly was born in Bedford, Texas, but moved to Pennsylvania at a young age.
A professional since 2009, Skelly has also competed for Bellator and Legacy Football Club.
Skelly began wrestling at the age of five and later moved back to Texas, attending Azle High School where he also played baseball and football, but quit the latter two sports when he was a senior to focus on wrestling. division. Skelly continued wrestling at the collegiate level for Oklahoma City University and Missouri Baptist university where he earned National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American honors. Early career
Bellator Mobile Marketing Association
Skelly had previously defeated Pineda via submission and defeated him again in the rematch via kneebar.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
In March 2014, it was announced that Skelly has signed with the UFC. He made his debut against Mirsad Bektic on April 19, 2014 at UFC on Fox: Werdum versus
Browne. He lost via majority decision. The fight was nearly stopped in the second round as Skelly landed a pair of illegal knees as Bektic was grounded against the cage, prompting the ref to deduct a point and allow him five minutes to recover.
Bektic clearly was hurt and wobbled as he returned to his feet but was able to continue after a brief break. In his second fight for the promotion, Skelly faced Tom Niinimäki on August 23, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 49.
After taking virtually no damage during his fight with Niinimäki, Skelly faced Sean Soriano on September 5, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 50, replacing an injured Andre Fili.
Skelly faced Jim Alers on February 14, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 60. Skelly was briefly linked to a bout against Hacran Dias on June 27, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 70. However, Skelly was pulled from the card in early June due to illness and replaced by Levan Makashvili.
Skelly faced Kevin Souza on November 7, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 77.
Skelly faced Darren Elkins on March 5, 2016 at UFC 196. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.