MANILA, Philippines – Miguel Mosquera expressed his apologies for failing to meet the contracted weight limit of his 3-round featherweight encounter versus Rolando Gabriel Dy at PXC 51 on Saturday, January 16.
Mosquera was over the allowable non-title featherweight limit of 146 pounds by 5 pounds, but Dy still allowed him to compete against him with a $50-fine per pound as stipulated in the fight contract.
(READ: Rolando Dy has no problem facing overweight opponent at PXC 51)
According to Mosquera, his 15-month layoff caused him difficulties in cutting weight for his comeback bout at PXC 51, which took place at Solaire Resort and Casino’s Grand Ballroom in Parañaque City.
“I was out for over a year. That was my main problem coming into this fight against Rolando Dy. I apologize for that. I never intended to exceed the stipulated weight ceiling,” he told Rappler.
Despite the mishap on the weighing scale, Mosquera plans to continue his mixed martial arts career as a featherweight under the Guam-based promotion’s banner
“I’m staying at 145 pounds and I will still be fighting for PXC,” he stated.
Dy, who made his return to featherweight at PXC 51, went on to defeat Mosquera by a lopsided unanimous decision victory, sweeping the judges’ scorecards with 3 30-27 grades across the panel.
Mosquera was dropped to the mat by Dy with a knee to the body in the dying seconds of round two, but Erwin Tagle's heavy-handed protégé was saved by the bell.
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-video" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Saved by the bell! Rolando Dy was able to drop Miguel Mosquera with a knee in the dying seconds of Round 2. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PXC51?src=hash">#PXC51</a> <a href="https://t.co/m9OUWKOeOO">pic.twitter.com/m9OUWKOeOO</a></p>— NISSI ICASIANO (@Nissi_Icasiano) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nissi_Icasiano/status/688374244040806400">January 16, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>{/source}
Dy believes the match should have been stopped by referee Donny Elviña, but Mosquera affirmed that the in-cage official made the right call.
"The referee made the right decision to not stop the fight when I dropped to the mat. The time had expired at that moment. I knew that it was the final moments of the second round that's why I closed the distance for a takedown attempt," Mosquera shared.
However, Mosquera admitted that he felt terrible pain when Dy's knee smacked his ribcage and was merely trying to survive the third round.
"I was hurt. I told myself that I have to finish the fight and survive the third round. Hats off to Rolando Dy," he said. – Rappler.com