Darragh Kelly ready to roll the dice on big Wembley chance

Darragh Kelly admits that he rolled the dice in taking on Dmytrii Hrytsenko this week – but the Moville Mauler plans to light up Wembley.

Kelly (6-0) faces fellow unbeaten prospect Hrytsenko (9-0) at Bellator Champions Series 5 in the OVO Wembley Arena on Saturday evening.

Kelly has taken a step up in opponent in facing off with a fighter on the cusp of attaining a Bellator ranking.

“When this was put to me, it lit a wee fire inside me,” Kelly told Donegal Live.

“I'm feeling good here. I knew what I was signing up for. It's a tough test, but I wanted to test myself.

“I was offered three different guys and I did think that this man was the hardest. It sort of goes against everything I would have said before. I was always of the opinion that the hard fights will come so take the handy ones when they're there.

“Every fighter should have the attitude that they can beat everyone. I'm confident in my ability and I'm a gambling man. I know this is high-risk, high-reward.”

Kelly (6-0) is getting the swift return to action he craved having beaten Mathias Poiron at the O2 Arena in June.

Hrytsenko (9-0) overcame Justin Montalvo last October at Bellator 300 in the Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

Kelly has won five of his six professional bouts inside the scheduled distance and will fight outside of Ireland for the first time this weekend.

The OVO Wembley Arena is a 12,500-seat indoor facility that is sure to be an attractive trip for Kelly's growing army of supporters.

He said: “Camp has gone really well. I took a week off after my last fight and then I was straight back in.

“I feel like I have improved a lot and that is really motivating for me to keep seeing that improvement; it really fuels my desire.

“It's a great stage to get too, Wembley. It's been nice to fight in the 3Arena, but it's great to get something different now.”

Hrytsenko has been working a lot with former Bellator welterweight champion and fellow Ukrainian Yaroslav Amosov.

Kelly said: “Hrytsenko is a very clean kick-boxer. His volume, his output are very high. I class fighters as either sprinters – guys who are explosive with low volume but who hit hard – or marathoners, who will go all day and keep throwing. This lad will throw, throw, throw all day and keep the pace.

“Bringing him down to my pace will be half the battle.

“I think you'll see a new version of me. I have been working very hard on my boxing and my striking. I need to be smart here too. I can't be a one-trick pony and I know that I'll have to mix it up a lot.

The 26-year-old Kelly, who is coached by John Kavanagh at the Straight Blast Gym in Dublin where UFC Conor McGregor trains, fights on a bill headlined by middleweights Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards.

Belfast woman Leah McCourt (8-3) and Drogheda native Ciaran Clarke (9-0) will also be on the bill.

In June, Kelly stopped Poiron in the first round via a guillotine choke and has won his last four bouts with a stoppage.

Having come out clean and unscathed, Kelly was keen to get a swift fight.

He said: “I need activity. I am in this to be a champion. I'm not here just to show up for a pay day. It's everyone's dream to be a champion and that's what I'm aiming for.”