Before a crowd of 10,850 attending EliteXC-Strikeforce’s live
MMA event produced and distributed on SHOWTIME
® PPV, Frank Shamrock became the first Strikeforce middleweight
(185 lb. limit) champion in history by submitting Phil
”
The New York Bad Ass
”
Baroni with a rear naked choke four minutes into the second
round of their main event showdown.
By Paul Doherty Staff Writer
San Jose – Before a crowd of 10,850 attending EliteXC-Strikeforce’s live MMA event produced and distributed on SHOWTIME® PPV, Frank Shamrock became the first Strikeforce middleweight (185 lb. limit) champion in history by submitting Phil “The New York Bad Ass” Baroni with a rear naked choke four minutes into the second round of their main event showdown.
Nothing short of an all-out slugfest, the Shamrock-Baroni meeting lived up to all its hype and anticipation as both fighters rushed out of the gates and attempted to draw first blood.
Shamrock controlled the first round, bombing Baroni with punches before dropping him to the ground with a hard right hand.
Shamrock was then penalized one point for striking Baroni to the back of the head with two right hand punches.
After the fight resumed, Baroni shot in and took Shamrock to the mat.
The fighters worked their way back to their feet and the crowd roared with excitement and approval for both fighters skill and stamina.
With the round nearing an end Shamrock quickly went to work with his hands, repeatedly scoring with his jab and right hand.
In the second round, Baroni retaliated, attacking Shamrock’s body with right hand punches.
Baroni answered a one-two punch combination by shooting for a takedown, but Shamrock defended by sprawling.
Shamrock then took Baroni’s back and secured a rear naked chokehold.
Refusing to tap, Baroni was choked into unconsciousness.
The referee halted the fight and awarded the technical knockout victory and Strikeforce title to Shamrock.
In other fights, Murilo “Ninja” Rua finished fellow former Pride Fighting Championship star Joey “Dream Smasher” Villasenor in two rounds to capture the vacant EliteXC middleweight crown.
In the first-ever EliteXC Middleweight championship, after putting in a calculated first round of work, Rua exploded in the second round, unloading a flurry of punches and finally dropping Villasenor with a right hand counter.
Rua rushed in and scored a handful of punches on his downed opponent before the referee stopped the fight at the 1:05 mark and declared Rua the winner and first-ever EliteXC 185-pound champion.
World San Shou kickboxing champion, Cung Le extended his undefeated mixed martial arts record to 4-0 by stopping UFC veteran, Tony “The Freak” Fryklund in the second round of their featured contest.
Like he did in his first three efforts in the cage, Cung Le quickly went to work with his arsenal of kicks before dropping Fryklund with a right hand.
Le was completely poised throughout the first round, but in the second stanza Fryklund found his mark and began backing Le up with his own punch combinations.
Le successfully fought him off and, in the opening seconds of the third round, went on the attack; his right kick to the body set up a right hand that dropped and finished Fryklund at the 25-second mark of the round.
In other action, Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello continued his reign of terror over mixed martial art’s heavyweight division by hammering former K-1 North America tournament champion, Carter “The Beast” Williams.
Buentello dominated the first round of the matchup and, at the start of the second, unloaded two quick uppercuts to Williams’ chin that put “The Beast” on his back and out of the fight.
