MANILA--Rolando Gabriel "Gab" Dy, one of the Philippine mixed martial arts' well-known personalities, has called it a career following his latest defeat.
The Paranaque native suffered a knockout loss to Olzhas Eskaraev at Brave 62 early Saturday (Philippine Time) in the latter's hometown of Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Eskaraev's ground game proved to be the defining factor as Dy, the son of boxing legend Rolando Navarette, struggled to get up and take the fight back to the striking showdown.
Both fighters tagged each other with solid strikes early on, but Eskaraev took control of the match late into Round 1 after two takedowns on Dy.
The Kazakh sambo champion quickly took Dy down anew to start the second round, and after finding an opening, the former began landing a flurry of left punches in the ground-and-pound action which somehow knocked the latter out cold, prompting the referee to stop the fight at the 3:40 mark of the said round.
After quickly getting back into his senses, Dy formally announced what he believes is inevitable.
"Before I entered [here], I prayed to God, 'If this is the last time I will enter this octagon, so be it.' And I think I have the answer. I announce my retirement to the game," Dy said. "I believe this is the time for me to rest."
Dy finished his MMA career with 14 wins with four knockouts and two submissions, 13 losses, and one no contest.
However, he dropped his last four fights, all under Brave, after winning the said promotion's Fighter of the Year award in 2020.
The 32-year-old former Abu Dhabi Warriors featherweight champion believes that at his age, he could no longer keep up with the rest of the pack, all the more after moving to the lightweight division.
"I did my best, but I'm an old lion now, and I think I don't belong to this level anymore," Dy further said. "I love this sport more than my life, but we know when to end and when we can't do it anymore."
However, he added that his fans and even his haters will still see him inside the cage although in a different capacity.
"I still coach. I love this sport. I will stay in this sport forever 'til I die," Dy further said.
He then thanked Brave for giving him two contracts, the last after he lost the ADW title to Lee Do-Gyeom in 2019, and Eskaraev, who now moved up to 11-5 with three knockouts and four submissions, for accepting the challenge in what would be his farewell fight.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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