Rolando Dy promises quick finish to his title defence against Lee Do-gyeom at UAE Warriors VIII

Filipino strongman insists opponent is 'much smaller to match me in terms of size, power and skills', ahead of their bout in Abu Dhabi on Friday

Featherweight champion Rolando Dy, left, goes head-to-head with challenger Lee Do-gyeom at Wednesday's press conference in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National​​​​​​

MMA strongman “The Incredible” Rolando Dy has promised his title defence of the UAE Warriors featherweight belt will not go beyond the first round.

Dy, 28, with a record of 12 wins seven defeats and a no contest, face South Korean challenger Lee Do-gyeom (6-3-0) in the title bout of the Warriors VIII fight card at the Mubadala Arena on Friday.

The Filipino was certainly not shy and retiring when the fighters were unveiled at the Anantara Eastern Mangrove Hotel in Abud Dhabi on Wednesday.

“I’m not only good at talking but good in killing people,” he said. “I came off three fights before this title defence and they were all monsters,” he said.

“I took their heads off. Moreover, compared to them, this guy [Lee] is much smaller to match me in terms of size, power and skills.

“He thinks he can fight me and take my belt. No way brother. This fight won’t be painful to you. It will end fast.”

Lee, who returns to the octagon after a loss to compatriot Moon Gi-bum last April, vowed he would show his opponent trash talk and fighting are two different things on the fight night.

“The guys who can’t fight talk a lot,” Lee said through a translator. “He will learn what he really is on Friday.”

Dy, the son of former WBC World super featherweight title-holder Rolando Navarrete, made his professional debut in MMA on October 2011. He joined the Warriors after being released by UFC where his record was one win and three defeats.

He comes into Warriors VIII after three successive victories, including his title win over Yerzhan Estanov from Kazakhstan in Abu Dhabi in May.

The Emirati fighter Mohammed Yahya will be out to redeem his status when he meets Glen Ranillo of the Philippines in the Lightweight.

“I’m coming after losing my last fight and lost a lot of sleep after that result,” Yahya said.

“This fight means everything for me. I have been training for this fight for more than five months. I want to win in front of my fans, friends and family. It means a lot to me.”

Added in the fight card for the first time is a women’s bout between Weronika Zygmunt of Poland and Korean Seo Ye-dam at strawweight.

Fouad Darwish, general manager of Palm Sports, the event management company, believes the UAE Warriors is still at an early stage but they have lofty ambitions to go global.

“Everything you see today has been studied, deliberated, negotiated and directed by our management,” he said.

“This is why the UAE Warriors are where it is today. We still are far from the global scene but we aspire to go global. We want to go beyond the region, to Europe and North America.

“We will surprise you all by our global presence sooner than later.”