(Photo from Brave CF website)
MANILA – Filipino mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters Rolando Dy and Jenel Lausa struggled to find their groove against Kyrgyz opponents and lost in their battles at Brave CF 47: Asian Domination in Seef, Bahrain early Friday (Philippine Time).
Dy's bid to capture another MMA championship suffered a huge setback against Abdisalam Kubanychbek in the main event.
In the fight to determine Amin Ayoub's next challenger for the Brave lightweight title, Kubanychbek showed his dominance in the ground game to stop Dy after two rounds.
Kubanychbek got the upper hand after taking Dy down late into Round 1 and enforced some ground-and-pound action.
The Kyrgyz fighter then took control of most of the second round despite the Filipino's improved takedown defense as the former, after a successful takedown, delivered more powerful ground-and-pound strikes.
The damage inflicted to Dy was too much that he failed to get back on his feet when the referee called him to prepare for the start of Round 3, forcing what was eventually ruled as a "corner stoppage".
Kubanychbek won his 10th straight fight and moved up to 19-3 overall.
Dy, on the other hand, saw his winning streak snapped at two and fell to 14-10.
Earlier in the card, Lausa's MMA return was spoiled after bowing to replacement fighter Ryskulbek Ibraimov.
Stepping in to replace Afghan pugilist Rahmatullah Yousufzai on a one-day notice, Ibraimov seemed like he properly studied Lausa's tendencies for a long period, slowing him down with his efficient ground game.
Lausa, an undefeated professional boxer, tried to display his striking brilliance against Ibraimov in the first two rounds.
But the Kyrgyz fighter achieved multiple takedowns on the Iloilo native, frustrating him in the process.
Lausa seemed to have finally found a chance to finish Ibraimov after almost knocking him down with a right hook early into Round 3.
However, Ibraimov found an opening after a missed Lausa haymaker for a crucial takedown later in the final round that put him in a dominant spot of pulling the shocker.
One judge had it 29-28, while the other two scored 30-27 all in favor of Ryskulbek, who moved up to 19-8.
Lausa, on the other hand, dropped to 7-6, losing his fourth straight MMA fight overall dating back to 2017.
Kyrgyzstan actually went 3-0 in Brave CF 47 as Nemat Abdrashitov knocked out Anzor Abdulkhozhaev of Russia. (PNA)
