 |
| A rising star as a fighter, Rolando Dy (far right) tries his luck as a referee. Ivan Saldajeno |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MAKATI--In a rare occasion, rising Filipino MMA star Rolando Dy showed up at a championship fight as a referee.
The fighter, currently signed with PXC, officiated not just one but two MMA title fights at a certain event at Circuit Makati.
The said fight card, organized by Underground Battle MMA in partnership with the international arm of World Series of Fighting, had Dy, who was barely a week off his win against Miguel Mosquera at PXC 51, handling half of the 12-bout fixture including two of three championship fights scheduled, which in itself included the main event featuring local favorite Mark Palomar and American foe Brad Robinson.
For Dy, he found his refereeing stint as a means of gaining more knowledge as a fighter.
"For experience lang din. Gusto ko lang lumago yung skills ko as a fighter, kaya gusto kong i-try," Dy told Dugout Philippines on early Saturday right after the conclusion of the said fight card.
But while he fared well in his debut as the third man in the cage, Dy, who recently lost a title fight to Guamanian Kyle Aguon, still finds vying for the belt easier than maintaining order between those gunning for it.
"I consider myself as a black belter in MMA and a white belter in being a referee," he funnily evaluated how he fared during the event, although some thought he did a good job.
Robinson took the first UGB middleweight title through submission against Palomar, while the other title fight Dy officiated had Pakistani pug Uloomi Shaheen knocking out Michael Mondragon for the inaugural bantamweight belt.
The third title fight in the card ended up with Pakistan-based Palestinian fighter Ahmed Mujtaba forcing a submission on Rodian Menchavez.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
.jpg)
