Former boxer turned MMA fighter Roy “the Dominator” Doliguez displayed amazing heart and courage in taking a world championship fight in just a month’s notice. Doliguez clearly showed the same heart and courage in his ONE World Strawweight Championship match against Evolve MMA’s Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke.
Roy Doliguez ended up at the wrong side of the win column, however, as he fell to DSA by fifth round technical decision Friday night at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore. But not without controversy.
“Defense and counter sa striking ang game plan. I’ll try to take him down for most of the fight and go for the submission,” was what Doliguez told us prior to the match and right from the opening moments of the match, Doliguez immediately went for the shoot but was quickly sprawled by the Thai fighter. DSA was able to reverse a Doliguez-takedown into the mount, which is the story for most of the match. A flying knee by the muay thai artist was reversed into a takedown by the Filipino. After a scramble, Doliguez ended up with a leg lock attempt on his opponent. The Filipino eventually ended up on his back. Short punches by Amnuaysirichoke ended the round culminating with a huge shot that resulted to a cut above the left eye of Doliguez.
Again, Doliguez opened the second round with a takedown but was quickly reversed by DSA. The Thai then pinned the right arm of Doliguez and started connecting with short elbows. The two then went on a stand-up exchange but huge body kicks by DSA proved to be the difference in the round.
With Doliguez’s wrestling not going for him, the Submission Sport Philippines member utilized his boxing to try and exchange with the muay thai practitioner. After a few jabs and straights by Doliguez, the momentum again switched for DSA with his stinging body kicks which were coming from all sorts of angles. Doliguez was then cornered down by DSA. DSA connected with soccer kicks with 2:15 to go. With Doliguez again on his back, the muay thai world champion connected with short elbows. The former boxer tried to go for the takedown once more to end the round but was again reversed to the mount to close the round.
At the 4:45 mark of the championship rounds, the match had to be halted due to an inadvertent eye poke by DSA. The Dominator utilized the full five minutes to recover his vision. Then at the 3:58 point of the fourth, the Thai again committed an accidental foul, this time a low blow. After another two minutes of recovery time, the match continued but the Filipino ate a flying knee to the body. A head kick by DSA resulted to a takedown by Doliguez. Doliguez, who told us that he needed to take the match to the ground, was active on the mat as he went from side mount to the north-south position with 2:33 remaining. Doliguez was able to connect with huge knees to the head of DSA but the referee, Joey Lepiten, controversially stood them up.
After 20 minutes of action, a visibly fatigued Roy Doliguez got out of his corner. Doliguez went for one last exchange but head kicks by DSA resulted to the Filipino going for the takedown once more. It was an unsuccessful attempt however. Closing in on the last two minutes of the match, the Thai stalked Doliguez like a predator stalking his prey. At the 1:38 point of the final round, it appeared that another accidental foul occurred, this time a headbutt*. The referee waved off the match after but with Doliguez and his camp protesting the stoppage.
It was a great performance by “the Dominator” but the breaks did not go to him. Moreover, the controversial stand-up during the fourth round with Doliguez on the advantageous position in the north-south could have turned the tides of the match in his favor.
*According to Erwin Tagle, a member of Submission Sport Philippines, it was not an eye poke that ended the match but an accidental headbutt.
ONE Championship 27: Warrior’s Quest
May 23. 2015 Singapore Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Singapore
ONE World Strawweight Championship: Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke def. Roy Doliguez via Technical Unanimous Decision (1:38, Rd5)
