Richard Kiely will aim to silence doubters by defeating 14-1 Michael 'Venom' Page in the co-main event of Bellator Dublin this September.
The Dubliner faced off with Page for the first time at a press conference in the Gibson Hotel today, and admitted that he is being viewed as a heavy underdog for the fight in the 3 Arena on September 27th.
He said: "I'm a realist, I know that everyone thinks that he's going to win and that it's a mismatch based on our records, he's 14-1 and I'm 3-1.
"I even know that he thinks it's an easy fight, but he's in for a shock and everyone else is too, and I'm happy that I'm being underestimated because I'm going to punch a hole in his chest and knock him out."
Kiely had the crowd of media in hysterics with his one-liners, including telling Irish Mirror that his first impression of the English fighter was that 'he was very ugly'.
"He has a face like a melted welly," Kiely said. "My first impression when I saw him on camera was that he was very ugly and after meeting him face-to-face, my impression is that I was correct."
Despite Page openly admitting that he views the Irish kickboxing champ as a 'warm-up' fight for a bout in London later this year, Kiely was full of confidence about how the result will go.
"What people need to realise is, I bring knockouts, I've got legitimate one-shot knockout power and we've already seen what happens when he gets hit on the chin, he goes out.
"When I land on him he's going out cold, you can laugh all you want but he's fighting a guy who is faster than Douglas Lima [the one loss on MVP's record], whose proven that he can put people away with one shot, and Michael has proven that you get a little touch on the chin and go out."
Bellator Europe president David Green insisted that he sees the bout as evenly-matched, and said that it was a no-brainer to put together.
"I think it's a very interesting fight stylistically and Richard makes you want to see a fight," Green told Irish Mirror. "It's a very worthy co-main event."
Tickets for Bellator Dublin are on sale now through Ticketmaster.ie and Bellator.com , as well as the 3Arena box office.
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