Victory remained elusive for Filipino fighter Rolando Dy this year after yielding to Serbian foe Slobodan Maksimovic in the main event of the BRAVE CF 56 at the Belexpocentar in Belgrade, Serbia late Saturday night , Dec. 18 (early Sunday morning in Manila).

Slobodan Maksimovic (left) is all smiles after beating Rolando Dy via unanimous decision in their lightweight bout in the main event of BRAVE CF 56 at the Belexpocentar in Belgrade, Serbia late Saturday night , Dec. 18 (early Sunday morning in Manila). (BRAVE CF)

Despite showing an evolved version of himself, Dy, the 2020 BRAVE CF Fighter of the Year, suffered back-to-back losses as Makisimovic scored a unanimous decision win in their lightweight bout.

Maksimovic, a BRAVE CF debutant, had it at 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.

Maksimovic’s takedown late in the third round proved to be instrumental for him after negating Dy’s attempt with 25 seconds left in the final frame.

With Dy pinning Maksimovic against the wall, the Serbian fighter tripped the Filipino using his legs and easily converted the pinch to an advantage with a dominating top position.

From that point, Maksimovic used the remaining time to unload a couple of elbow strikes while Dy, also on the defensive, fired back with elbow strikes of his own.

“He (Dy) pushed me. To be honest, he pushed me… because he was Fighter of the Year, because he’s a tough opponent,” said Maksimovic, who improved to an 18-6 record with one draw, after winning his promotional debut.

“Thank you for the 15 minutes [of battle]. I will never forget this in my life,” he added.

In the second round, Dy, the son of Filipino boxing legend Rolando Navarette, had the upper hand early after securing a takedown but both fighters went back at their feet after 45 seconds of ground game.

Maksimovic exploited Dy’s attempt for a takedown by catching him off guard and executed a counter takedown of his own midway through the second frame.

After getting back up anew, the 30-year-old Dy landed a solid left jab that pushed back Maksimovic a bit with a minute to go as both fighters continued the action and exchanged striking in the waning seconds.

With the loss, Dy fell to a 14-11 record and went back home winless in 2021.


Source: Manila Bulletin (https://mb.com.ph/2021/12/19/dy-suffers-back-to-back-loss-yields-to-serbian-foe/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dy-suffers-back-to-back-loss-yields-to-serbian-foe)