Tallaght teen wins gold at world kickboxing championships (WAKO) in Italy

A Tallaght teenager has taken home gold at the kickboxing world championships (WAKO: World Association of Kickboxing Organizations) in Italy this weekend.

The competition which took place in Jesolo Lido saw the best kickboxers ages 18 and undertake to the city to compete from September 30th to October 9th where Dublin teen Nate Kelly managed to win the overall 57kg section, bringing home the first-place trophy for Ireland.

Kelly took on five competitors to get to the final with each fight being three two-minute rounds.

Kelly took on competitors from Switzerland, Germany, Greece, America, and England to bag the gold.

The world-renowned and highly competitive WAKO competition sees competitors from over 90 countries across the world with over 142 entries from Ireland alone.

Ireland also placed fourth overall in the competition.

The MMA prodigy has both a black belt in kickboxing and just recently traveled to compete in the MMA world championships in Abu Dhabi alone at just 17.

Nate has also previously taken home a European championship for Ireland as well as becoming national champion over 16 times.

Nate currently fights out of Tallaght Martial Arts for kickboxing (TMA) and Straight Blast Gym HQ (SBG) under the famous coach of Conor McGregor, John Kavanagh, on his pro team and is expecting to make his debut as a professional fighter in the MMA scene in the near future.

Nate who goes by ‘Nate the Great Kelly’ previously rose to public attention as a child for asking UFC owner Dana White for “an advance on his first paycheck” to fund his attendance at a UFC fight with Rebok subsequently reaching out to provide Kelly with tickets to a fight and Kelly has continued chasing this dream ever since.

Kelly also appeared on the Late Late show with Ryan Tubridy at the time and has big dreams to return to the show as a full-time fighter in years to come.

Nate Kelly said: “I’m absolutely over the moon to be able to win gold for Ireland and to be able to make my country proud.”

Kelly who even hugged his final opponent twice after beating him in the final round added: “I think it’s so important to always show respect for your opponent and keep your ego in check. I can know my skill set and remain humble and I think that’s for me anyways the key to success and I can’t wait to go even further with this now.”