Shamrock outlasts Baroni to win Strikeforce title
The war of words between Frank Shamrock and Phil Baroni finally got physical last Friday in San Jose, Calif. Shamrock thrilled his hometown crowd by winning the Strikeforce middleweight title.
Shamrock lost a point in the first round for illegal blows to the back of Baroni’s head. Baroni recovered in Round 2, landing some strong rights and a knee to the head. However, Shamrock bounced back to win with the rear naked choke at the 4-minute mark.
Shamrock wasn’t the only middleweight champion crowd that night, as Murilo “Ninja” Rua downed Joey Villasenor to win the Elite XC middleweight title. Rua used a flurry of right hands to win by TKO at 1:05 of Round 2.
Rua and Shamrock will both have to watch for a challenge from another middleweight, Cung Le. His superb striking display led to a win over Tony “The Freak” Fryklund early in the third round.
In other bouts, Edson Berto defeated Victor Valenzuela with a heel hook in 47 seconds;
Paul Daley beat Duane Ludwig by TKO in Round 2; Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello defeated Carter Williams by TKO early in Round 2; and Josh “The Punk” Thomson defeated Nick “The Ghost” Gonzalez with the rear naked choke.
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