Paul Kelly (Pictures) made a big impact with his recent victory at UFC 80. On a night littered with quick finishes and a one-sided main event, the undefeated Wolfslair welterweight stole the headlines in a thrilling unanimous decision over fellow Englishman Paul Taylor (Pictures).

To the delight of the crowd, the two Paul's delivered, by some margin, the night's most exiting bout. Kelly's ability to keep the mule-kicking Taylor on his back for most of the three rounds proved decisive in the Liverpool scrapper's victorious UFC debut.

It has become commonplace for UFC commentary team Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg to wax verbally about "Octagon jitters" when a debuting fighter enters the cage for the first time. For some, pre-fight nerves can have a destructive impact on their fate, while for others the adrenaline charge created by fighting on a big show can inspire them to peak performance.

It's fair to say Kelly fits into neither category.

"I'm just not a nervous fighter," he said. "Nobody believes me, but I never get nervous before I fight. I may get a bit edgy a couple of minutes beforehand maybe, but I think that's the same for everyone."

Kelly simply likes to fight. As far as he's concerned, the bigger the show, the better the experience.

"I enjoy it," he told Sherdog.com. "When you're coming out to fight, that's a feeling no drug in the world can create. You see some fighters beforehand in the lobby, and their eyes are everywhere, their heads are down, but I'm always chilled. I like to keep a nice, relaxed head before I fight.

"The whole experience in Newcastle was unbelievable, from the weigh-in to walking out to fight. I usually listen to music on my ring walk, but this time I couldn't hear a thing over the crowd, so I was like ‘f--- it' and started touching hands with the crowd and really having fun. I figured this could be the last time I do this, so why not make the most of it?"

Coming in, the keys to victory for each combatant seemed clear. A standup battle would likely favor Taylor, with his heavy kicks and accurate punches, while Kelly would need to keep the fight in his comfort zone, dishing out the ground-and-pound attack that had been his bread and butter in six previous victories. It came as a shock to see the 23-year-old Kelly trading punch for punch in the contest's opening moments.

"I loved that," Kelly said with a laugh. "It's a strange thing; I like getting hit in the face. When I spar I hang my chin out to dry, take a few, then I switch it on. I was calling him on, and he did hit me with a lot, but I take hard punches in sparring from people like Tom Blackledge (Pictures) and Mike Bisping, so I'm used to it. If you see me down the gym, I rarely take it to the ground, but when you're in a fight, ultimately it is about game plan. You can't always give someone their strong points. Sure we could have punched each and kept it standing all night, but do that for too long and someone's getting knocked out."

While Kelly's ability to keep Taylor on his back was crucial, another fundamental ingredient in his hard-fought victory was an ability to capitalize on critical errors from his Walsall opponent. Taylor's failed guillotine in the first, sloppy choke attempt in the second and over-eagerness in the third all ended with Kelly in top position and in control.

"If you make any mistake, someone will capitalize, especially at this level," Kelly explained. "It's part of the game, but to be honest, the game plan was not to go for the takedown unless it was there. He's a capable fighter, so chances are he will be able to stop them. As it worked out, I was able to take him down and take advantage of his mistakes. I do two hours strength and conditioning every day and I have good control and base, so it's pretty hard to budge me, and I also felt like I had the edge in strength."

Although Kelly was happy to grind out the decision from the top position, Taylor remained active and occasionally dangerous from his back -- a fact not lost on Kelly.

"I'm quite happy to sit in someone's guard and elbow away, but he did have a Kimura in pretty tight at one stage," Kelly said. "But I was still annoyed by the commentary. I passed his legs straight away and would never have tapped to that. I'm really hard to submit -- they breed us tough in Liverpool. I would rather have it snap and continue with what I had left than to tap out."

Kelly feels another factor in the victory was his ability to match Taylor's engine. The Walsall fighter had earned his "relentless" tag with an ability go all-out from first bell to last, something that Kelly was all too aware of.

"Looking at his gas tank, I knew this was going to be a three-round war, but I think I matched Paul in the fitness department," Kelly said. "I made 170 comfortably. When I woke up on the day of the fight, I only had a few pounds to shift and it made a world of difference to my energy when the fight went into the final round. It's not easy getting to know your own body, but I'm learning to rest more and not be afraid to miss the occasional session to allow my body to recover. I was the fittest I had ever been for this fight but didn't work as hard as I have done for some of my previous fights."

Having entered the gym just three years ago with no previous martial arts background, Kelly sees the flourishing Wolfslair MMA academy as being essential to his success. Mario Sukata covers grappling and jiu-jitsu at the school, Dave Jackson does the Thai boxing and Tony Quigley coaches boxing alongside gym owners Anthony McGann and Lee Gwynn.

"If you look out on the mat right now, you can barely move for people trying to kick each other's heads in," Kelly said.

Back at the gym several days after the Taylor fight, the effects of that brutal night in Newcastle were still evident.

"My head was all rocked up," Kelly said. "I don't bruise easily, but my face was so f---ing sore. My elbows, hands, everything was in f---ing agony. After those elbows he dropped on me in the second round, my f---ing head was killing me. I was trying to dance when we went partying after the show; it was like my brain was floating around inside my head. I think it made me a bit gun-shy for a while.

"I bumped into a lad in the gym a few days later," Kelly joked, "and he nearly put me to sleep!"

It's unclear when Zuffa will cash in on the second slice of its four-bout contract with Kelly, but the fighter is happy to mix it up with anyone. "Marcus Davis (Pictures) would be a great match style-wise, though Marcus may consider it something of an insult fighting someone having only their second fight in the UFC," Kelly acknowledged.

The articulate, good-natured Liverpool youngster's attitude can be summed up with his thoughts on the recently vanquished Taylor: "He's a great lad, and if I was going to go in and make a big impression and have a war with someone, I'm so glad it was against him. It proves there's no need for animosity. You can show sportsmanship, shake someone's hand and still have a great fight. I've never had a grudge match. I'm not one for saying, ‘I wanna do this to him and that to him.'

"I know Paul, and I don't have a bad word to say about him. He's a nice lad and tough as nails. We hugged each other, shook hands and then went out and killed each [other]!"