By Jun Ray Navarres
Filipino stalwart Rolando Dy suffered a loss to Abdisalam Kubanychbek of Kyrgyzstan at BRAVE CF 47: Asian Domination in Arad Fort, Bahrain on March 11.
Dy, a known striker started the match with well-timed strikes to Kubanychbek but was not able to handle the Kyrgyz’ ground game which ended the fight via corner stoppage before the third round.
“Omok” proved to be too much for the Filipino fighter to handle which resulted in Dy’s dreams of squaring off with lightweight kingpin Amin Ayoub distant again.
“Medyo masakit for me cause I have no reason. He is just way better than me that night. Iba level ni Abdisalam, he is one of the best fighters in Russia,” said Dy.
According to Dy, the pandemic hindered him a lot during the preparation for the fight as health protocols in the country limited his ground game.
“I didn’t have any wrestling training before the fight dahil nga pandemya dito sa Pinas. Wala akong maka wrestle nor I can’t train grappling that much kasi nga bawal pa, if makakapag train man, patago pa,” the 29-year-old fighter shared to BurnSports.Ph
“I think dun talaga ako natalo, sa grappling and wrestling part of the game, dun ako naubos.”
Despite the loss, Dy expressed how much he learned after locking horns with Kubanychbek in an Instagram post.
“I know this fight, this L(oss), will make me a better fighter. I learned a lot from this L more than I learned from my W(in)s,” posted Dy. “I will be ready for the next one.”
“Ang maganda alam ko na what level ang need ko abutin,” he added.
After experiencing the might of the Kyrgyzstan fighter, Dy believes that “Omok” will strip off Ayoub’s belt and that they will meet again in the future.
“I just need to get back up. No other options,” said Dy.
“I need to improve in that level. Kasi I am sure Abdisalam will win the title. I need to be ready for my next fights and win and maybe face Abdisalam for the belt in the future.”
Follow the writer on Twitter: @burnsports
