MMA: Catalan-Dima ruled no-contest due to illegal strikes

ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) announced that the bout that took place on October 18 at ONE FC: Total Domination in Singapore between Rene Catalan and Khim Dima has been ruled a no contest after a thorough review by ONE FC officials.

[Related: Filipino fighter Catalan loses to Dima, gets taken out on a stretcher after fight]

 

After reviewing the bout, ONE FC officials have decided that Dima landed several significant illegal strikes to the back of the neck of his opponent and referee Kenichi Serizawa did not do enough to penalize Dima during the bout for the illegal blows. The win for Dima has now been reversed and this fight will be officially ruled a no contest.

 

 

“Mahigit sampung beses ako tinamaan sa batok,” said Catalan the morning after the fight. “Sinasalo nung referee yung ibang suntok at siko na tatama dapat sa batok ko pero di niya naman binigyan ng warning.”

 

Catalan had Dima in trouble in the first round as he locked in an armbar but the Cambodian showed tremendous poise by staying calm and breaking the lock.

 

“Naramdaman ko kasi na may tumunog sa siko niya,” Catalan said. “Ayoko namang baliin kaya binitawan ko ng konti. Nagulat na lang ako na di siya nag-tap.”

 

In the second round, Catalan went for a single-leg takedown but he wasn’t able to complete it. Dima took the opportunity to land several blow, both legal and illegal, to finish the fight.

 

A rematch between the two is expected but as of the moment, Catalan is hoping someone will help manage his career so he can focus solely on training. “Sana may makuha akong manager kasi maganda naman yung pinakita ko kahit self-training lang ako. Kung mag-focus talaga ako sa training sigurado akong mas maganda ang ipapakita ko.” - Carlo Paminutan / AMD, GMA News