Seef District, Bahrain—To say that Rolando “The Incredible” Dy will have his hands full in “The White Fortress” is a massive understatement.
The 30-year-old Filipino mixed martial arts superstar will lock horns with hometown favorite Slobodan Maksimovic in the main event of BRAVE CF 56 set for December 18 at the state-of-the-art Belexpocentar in Belgrade, Serbia.
Dy, the 2020 BRAVE CF Fighter of the Year awardee, desperately needs an impressive performance to maintain his status in the promotion’s stacked 155-pound weight class after bowing to Kyrgyz stalwart Abdisalam “Omok” Kubanychbek this past March.
Even though the harrowing defeat at the hands of a potential contender for Ahmed “The Butcher” Amir’s BRAVE CF Lightweight World Championship was a bitter pill to swallow, Dy remains defiant that he still belongs among the elite of his division.
“This is a very important fight because I am here to keep my spot in the division. My opponent is a debutant who has the chance to move up the ladder. I expect him to come into our fight hungry, motivated, and eager to win,” he stated.
“I was a win away from getting a shot at the belt. I was in that position for a reason, and I want to remind every lightweight in the organization that I am not letting go of my position.”
Maksimovic will be setting foot on the global stage of the sport for the very first time after spending over 11 years in the regional circuit, amassing a professional record of 17-6-1.
Ranked as the No. 5 lightweight in the Balkan Peninsula, Maksimovic is currently riding high on a two-fight winning streak while winning seven out of his last eight outings since 2016.
Despite the momentum that Maksimovic carries into the three-round encounter, “The Incredible” is full of confidence after years of experience in the limelight.
“The level of competition that I have faced is different, and I truly believe that the caliber of fighters I’ve fought is a whole lot harder compared to him. My experience will be my edge in this fight,” Dy said.
Dy expects a battle that will be won by the finest of margins as two savvy strikers try to find a route to victory in the stand-up exchanges.
“He has a decent ground game as seen in the clips of his past fights, but he’s more of a striker. So I expect him to trade strikes with me. I am not worried at all because I know that I have better fundamentals in striking,” he mentioned.
With a lot on the line in Belgrade and the months of anticipation to get back inside the cage, Dy seeks to put forth a performance that is worthy of his ability and hard work in training so he can prove he is still a force to be reckoned with.
“I will be looking for the finish–whether it be standing up or on the ground. You can’t imagine what I’ve gone through since my last fight. I am here to make a statement,” he declared.