MMA News

[The_Dude]

All news courtesy of http://www.Sherdog.com

[The_Dude]

In Miami, Fla. over the weekend to shoot a commercial for one of his sponsors, veteran middleweight Phil Baroni (Pictures) spent Sunday evening in jail following an incident outside a South Beach restaurant.

Baroni was released on $5,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned April 30 on one felony count of threatening a police officer and misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting officers without violence, according to records on the Miami-Dade County Web Site.

"Phil was with only his girlfriend at that time and engaged in an altercation with multiple assailants," said Baroni's agent Ken Pavia. "When all the facts come out I think you will find that Phil was reasonably justified in his actions."

The middleweight has not fought since Oct. 2006 when he appeared on the first PRIDE U.S. card. He was supposed to fight Frank Shamrock (Pictures) in April, but after Shamrock signed to fight Renzo Gracie (Pictures) on Showtime their Strikeforce bout was delayed.

Sunday's incident in Miami will not endanger Baroni's June 22 fight with Shamrock, affirmed Pavia, who hired well known criminal defense attorney Paul Petruzzi to represent his fighter.

[The_Dude]

UFC 69: "Shootout" Play-by-Play


Josh Haynes (Pictures) vs. Luke Cummo
Round 1
Good action in the first round. Haynes came out aggressive throwing bombs and leg kicks. Haynes then scored a takedown but backed out of Cummo's guard soon after. Cummo rocks Haynes with a three punch combo, punctuated by a vicious left hook. Sherdog.com scores the first round 10-9 for Cummo.

Round 2
Cummo comes out throwing crisp combos. Haynes is taking a lot of punishment and answering with one punch at a time. Cummo lands a big right hand that drops Haynes. Referee Carry Hatley jumps in and stops the fight at the 2:45 mark. Haynes was out of it and took the ref down shortly after the stoppage.

Marcus Davis vs. Pete Spratt (Pictures)
Round 1
Davis throws Spratt to the canvas early in the round. Davis passes to side-control then after a scramble takes Spratt's back. Davis locks in a body-triangle but he can't get his arms around Spratt's neck. With about 20 seconds left in the round, Spratt turns into Davis' guard and works some punches to the body and a hard hammerfist to the face. Sherdog,.com sees the first frame 10-9 for Davis.

Round 2
Spratt came out firing and knocks Davis off balance and to the ground early in the round. Spratt landed some solid punches to the head before Davis locked up a leg and forced a tap at 2:57 due to an ankle lock.

Thales Leites (Pictures) vs. Pete Sell (Pictures)
Round 1
Leites got a quick double leg takedown early in the frame. Leites worked some solid ground and pound before passing guard and taking Sell's back. He worked for the rear naked choke but Sell had none of it. Sell scrambled and ended up on the bottom with Leites in side-control. Leites jumped across Sell and locked up an arm triangle, but Sell was able able to ride out the final 15 seconds and was saved by the bell. Sherdog.com scores it 10-9 for Leites.

Round 2
Leites lands a crushing leg kick and a overhand right in the opening minute of the frame. Sell tries a standing guillotine then he drops down to half-guard but Leites popped his head out and landed several devastating forearms to Sell's face. Leites then tried another arm triangle but he seemed to let go of it so he could apply more punishment to Sell. Leites then teed off on Sell for the rest of the round. At one point the referee looked close to steeping in, but he allowed Sell to continue working. Sherdog.com sees it 10-8 for Leites.

Round 3
Another dominating round for Leites. The Brazilian scored a takedown at the 1:30 mark and worked from top position for the rest of the fight. Moving from half-guard to side-control to mount, Leites punished the American with punches and tight positioning against the cage. Leites wins the fight 30-27 on all three judges' scorecards.

Brad Imes (Pictures) vs. Heath Herring (Pictures)
Round 1
Lots of exciting scrambles early in the bout. Herring landed a 3 punch combo followed by a straight left that dropped Imes flat. Herring pummeled Imes for the rest of the round with elbows and forearms from half-guard and side-control. Sherdog.com scores the one-sided round 10-8 for Herring.

Round 2
Herring continues to land his left straight lead at will. The left straight knocks Imes to the canvas again midway through the frame. Herring allows him to stand then takes him to the mat with a well executed takedown. Only a late rally in the last 20 seconds saves Imes from another 10-8 round on the Sherdog.com scorecard. Imes was able to sweep Herring and land shots to the head while the PRIDE veteran turtled to ride out the round. 10-9 for Herring.

Round 3
Herring scores a quick takedown and works from Imes' guard with punches to the head. Herring lands an illegal knee to the head of Imes on the ground. The referee stands them up. Herring scores another takedown and pounds away for the duration of the fight. Heath Herring wins a unanimous decision.

Alan Belcher (Pictures) vs. Kendall Grove (Pictures)
Round 1
Belcher lands a left hand. Belcher with a crisp leg kick. Belcher trips Grove and lands in side-control. Grove reverses to his feet and punishes Belcher with knees from the Thai clinch. Belcher kicks the body and the fighter's heads collide. Nobody is cut. Grove again clinches with Belcher and lands a knee to the midsection. Grove lands some hard foot stomps while pushing Belcher against the cage. "Big John" restarts the action. Belcher shoots but Grove stuffs. Sherdog.com scores the round 10-9 for Grove.

Round 2
Grove continues to strike the body with his knees. Belcher shoots a single but Grove defends. Grove takes Belcher down and moves to side-control. Grove dropping elbows down on Belcher. Grove has Belcher cut. Belcher back to his feet. Grove tees off on Belcher with 3 knees to the body, one to the chin and a right hand to the jaw. Grove picks Belcher up over his head and slams him to the mat. Grove tees off on Belcher with 3 knees to the body, one to the chin and a right hand to the jaw. Grove picks Belcher up over his head and slams him to the mat. Grove chokes out Belcher from half-guard on top with a modified arm-triangle (D'Arce choke) at 4:42 of the second.

Yushin Okami (Pictures) vs. Mike Swick (Pictures)
Round 1
Swick paws out an out-of-range jab. The crowd starts to chant "Swick, Swick!" The American lands a kick to the body. Straight left lands for Okami. Stiff jab from Okami finds its target. Okami drags Swick to the floor. Okami is looking for a guillotine but he gives it up to throw elbows. Okami working from half-guard. Mario Yamasaki warns swick for grabbing the fence. Okami has a Kimura. It's fully extended. Okami lets go of the arm and moves to mount just before the horn sounds. First round is 10-9 for Okami.

Round 2
Swick misses on a spinning back kick. Okami stands strong in the pocket and lands a hard jab that snaps Swick's head backwards. The Japanese middleweight muscles Swick to the ground and throws 2 punches from the Texan's open guard. Mario Yamasaki restarts the fight on the feet. Swick cracks Okami with a left hand. Okami clinches and pushes Swick against the cage. Another takedown for Okami. Again the referee stads them up. Swick presses and rocks Okami with a barrage of punches. The rally nets Swick the round, 10-9.

Round 3
Okami lands a right hand. Okami shoots but Swick sprawls and stuffs it. Solid inside leg kick from Swick. Swick rushses forward and unloads with punches that land. Okami answers with a takedown. Okami quickly mounts. Okami poundig away with punches from the mount. Swick briefly gives up his back. Okami works for a rear naked choke but Swick turns back into Okami's mount. Okami absolutely teeing off now. The fight is close to being stopped. Swick gives up his back again but this time he reverses and takes the top position. Okami brings his left leg high into the rubber guard. Swick passes to half-guard. The horn sounds to end the fight. Sherdog.com scores it 29-28 for Yushin Okami.

Official score:
29-28
29-28
30-27
All for Yushin Okami.

Dana White invites "Minotauro" to the cage. Rogan interviews but no fight details were discussed.

Leonard Garcia vs. Roger Huerta (Pictures)
Round 1
The fighters exchange heavy strikes. Huerta rushes forward with three straight head kicks but they all fail to land. Huerta scores a takedown. Huerta unloading with elbows from side-control. Huerta mounts and drops punches down. Garcia escapes to his feet and rocks Huerta with a left and a right. Garcia pulls guard with a guillotine. Huerta looked like he was in danger but he fights out. Huerta smacks Garcia with a right hand. Garcia escapes to his feet and rocks Huerta with a wild exchange of punches again. Huerta is cut. Huerta scores a takedown. Huerta creams Garcia with several unanswered punches. Garcia sweeps and takes the top position. Amazing action in the first round. Sherdog.com sees it 10-9 for Huerta.

Round 2
The action does not slow as the second frame begins with a violent punching exchange. Huerta takes the fight to the floor and lands some elbows. Garcia works to his feet trades haymakers with Huerta. Both fighters land solidly. Huerta has found his range and is landing power shots at will. Huerta with another takedown. Garcia is mounted. Garcia back to his feet. Incredible flurry of punches is traded by the now fatigued fighters. Sherdog.com scores the round 10-9 for Huerta.

Round 3
Garcia shoots immediately but Huerta stops it and opens up with punches. Garcia follows and unloads with lefts and rights. Huerta busts Garcia up with three heavy punches and throws him down. Huerta punches the head from half-guard. Garcia slides out and takes Huerta's back. Garcia is working for a rear naked choke. Huerta rolls him over throws a torrent of punches and elbows. Sherdog.com scores the fight 30-27 for Huerta, but Garcia put on a amazing show of heart and skill. The judges agree. 30-27 x3.

Sherdog.com's Greg Savage reports that Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans had to be separated right outside of the cage just minutes after the Huerta-Garcia fight. There was physical contact but it appears that no punches were thrown.

Josh Koscheck (Pictures) vs. Diego Sanchez (Pictures)

Diego Sanchez enters the Octagon behind a full Mariachi band.

Round 1
Koscheck grazes a head kick off of Diego. And another. Diego steps forward with a one-two but Koscheck shows good footwork to avoid the strikes. Diego lands his first meaningful punch of the fight. Koscheck lands a stiff jab and almost knocks Diego off his feet with an inside low kick. Koscheck shoots and lifts Sanchez high into the air before slamming him. Diego escapes and tries to take Koscheck's back but the bell rings. 10-9 for Koscheck.

Round 2
Koscheck rocks Diego with a straight right. Koscheck attacks Diego's right leg with another inside low kick. The crowd is growing restless due to the lack of action. Koscheck hurts Diego with a right hand. Right leg high kick lands for Koscheck. Another hard leg kick buckles Sanchez. Koscheck mauls Diego with a hard right hand. Diego runs away. Koscheck stands in the pocket and hits Diego with a left and a right. Sherdog.com scores the round 10-9 for Josh Koscheck.

Round 3
Koscheck bombs away with a straight right hand lead. Diego looks completely outclassed. The crowd boos unmercifully. Sanchez lands a right hand. One minute left in the bout. The crowd continues to boo. Koscheck opens up with his hands and fiishes the flurry with a leg kick. High kick lands for Koscheck. Complete domination for Josh Koscheck, 30-27. The judges agree, 30-27 x3.

Matt Serra (Pictures) vs. Georges St. Pierre (Pictures)
Round 1
Serra lands a straight right to the body. Serra lands another body shot. Serra looks very comfortable with his striking. St. Pierre is throwing one strike at a time thus far. Serra rocks St. Pierre with a right hook and another punch. He pounces and mounts St. Pierre then pounds away until John McCarthy halts the bout. Matt Serra becomes the new welterweight champion at 3:25 of the first round.

[bassjones]

In Miami, Fla. over the weekend to shoot a commercial for one of his sponsors, veteran middleweight Phil Baroni (Pictures) spent Sunday evening in jail following an incident outside a South Beach restaurant.

Baroni was released on $5,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned April 30 on one felony count of threatening a police officer and misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting officers without violence, according to records on the Miami-Dade County Web Site.

"Phil was with only his girlfriend at that time and engaged in an altercation with multiple assailants," said Baroni's agent Ken Pavia. "When all the facts come out I think you will find that Phil was reasonably justified in his actions."

The middleweight has not fought since Oct. 2006 when he appeared on the first PRIDE U.S. card. He was supposed to fight Frank Shamrock (Pictures) in April, but after Shamrock signed to fight Renzo Gracie (Pictures) on Showtime their Strikeforce bout was delayed.

Sunday's incident in Miami will not endanger Baroni's June 22 fight with Shamrock, affirmed Pavia, who hired well known criminal defense attorney Paul Petruzzi to represent his fighter.

I'm guessing a few drunks were harrasing him and either didn't recognize him, so he told them to back off, or they did and the alcohol started talking to them and telling them they could take him... things got out of hand, he kicked everyone's ass, and when the cops showed up and saw that one guy had whupped the house, they overreacted and when he saw that he was going to take the fall for this one, he got beligerent.

[The_Dude]

Nick Diaz tests positive for THC...

The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday changed the result of Nick Diaz's (Pictures) gogoplata victory over Takanori Gomi (Pictures) to a no-decision after it deemed that the use of marijuana aided in the Californian's Feb. 24 win over the PRIDE champion, NSAC executive director Keith Kizer confirmed to Sherdog.com.

Diaz's license was suspended six months, retroactive to the date of the fight, and he was fined $3,000, a sum equivalent to 20 percent of his purse.

According to MMAweekly.com, NSAC commission chairman Dr. Tony Alamo stated during Tuesday's hearing in Las Vegas that Diaz's Delta-9-THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) reading was an off-the-charts 175. A test is considered positive when THC levels broach 15, while Nevada holds its standard at 50.

"This creates a unique situation," expressed Alamo.

"I was there at this fight and believe that you were intoxicated, and that it made you numb to the pain," Alamo told Diaz, who was present. "Did it help you win? I think it did."

"I wasn't under the influence when I was fighting," Diaz responded. "I don't abuse drugs normally; it was a one-time thing. It was very embarrassing for me to test positive."

During an interview on the Sherdog Radio Network's "Beatdown," Diaz's manager Cesar Gracie (Pictures) questioned the NSAC's decision to change the fight result when it has not done so in previous "performance enhancement" related suspensions.

"Tim Sylvia (Pictures) kept his win when he tested positive for steroids, and because Nick tested positive for pot they're going to take his victory away, fine him $3,000 and suspend him for half of the year?" said Gracie. "I mean I think they just shot themselves in the foot. They didn't shoot Nick in the foot. They look like idiots out there."

In fact the NSAC has changed a result once before, after it amended regulation in December 2005 to allow for such a ruling. Following a positive test for methamphetamine stemming from a Nov. 2006 fight, boxer Omar Nino's majority draw with Brian Viloria was changed to a no-decision, Kizer said.

"Gomi is a great opponent, he's really tough," said Gracie. "You don't want to go in there high against a guy. You can't think, focus and react quickly. Obviously Nick won the fight. They were saying, ‘well you were going to tapout if you weren't on pot.' What was he going to tapout to? Nothing. Obviously they haven't seen Nick fight. When he's tested negative, when he's getting his head beat in, he keeps fighting. The guy's a warrior. For them to tell this kid, who is the main bread winner in his whole household, ‘you cannot fight anywhere in the world for six months, give us this much money and, by the way, it's a [no-decision],' it's more than Draconian, what they did."

Suspensions and fines were also handed down to Kit Cope (Pictures) and Joe Pearson (Pictures) for positive tests after the March 24 WEC card.

Cope was suspended for nine months and fined $1,167 (20 percent of his purse) for testing positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone.

Pearson, who also tested positive for Delta-9-THC, got an $800 fine (20 percent of his purse) as well as a six-month suspension.

California drug test results

Sherdog.com has learned the names of five mixed martial artists who tested positive for banned substances following fights in the state of California.

On March 10, in Ontario, Calif., Adam Lehman tested positive for cannabinoids (marijuana) after losing by guillotine choke to Jaime Fletcher (Pictures).

Will Torres and Jeff Morris (Pictures), each losers on a Gladiator Challenge card in Sacramento, and Brian Ebersole (Pictures), who fought for the International Fight League in Los Angeles, were found to have marijuana in their systems following March 17 bouts.

And on March 31, Nelson Ocampo tested positive for both methamphetamines and amphetamines following his three-round decision loss to Ed Lavelle (Pictures) in San Francisco.