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Hose and Baroni wins highlight Icon Sport 'Hard Times'

kala kolohe hose
Icon Sport: "Hard Times" went off last night from the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Middleweight champion and local fan favorite, Kala "Kolohe" Hose was in action in a non-title bout against Rolando Dominque, and Phil "The New York Badass" Baroni also competed on the card in a 175-pound catchweight fight against Ron Verdadero.

Hose (7-2) was coming off the second loss of his career in June at Elite XC: "Return of the King" to Robert McDaniel by first round submission (rear naked choke). That contest was also a non-title affair, which led to some questions of why Hose -- who won the title from Baroni in March -- wasn't defending his belt.

He took even more flack when this fight with Dominique was announced as a non-title match, too.

For a company that stripped Robbie Lawler of the same title early this year for inactivity, it's a little strange that its allowing the title to sit idle for two fights now. It almost seems obvious that the Hawaii-based promotion just want its local hero to be the champ for as long as possible.

Regardless, Hose came away with a second round technical knockout win on Saturday night, improving his record to (7-2) with all of his wins coming via TKO.

Hopefully, the next time we see Hose in action he'll have his gold on the line.

phil baroniFor Baroni (12-10), this was his fourth fight this year and his third in the last three months. After losing the first two of those fights this year, "The New York Badass" decided to make the move from middleweight (185 pounds) to welterweight (170 pounds).

His debut fight at welterweight was three weeks ago at Cage Rage 27: "Step Up" against Scott Jansen. He made quick work of Jansen with a first round knockout, looking very sharp at the lighter weight.

Last night Baroni met Ron Verdadero at a catchweight of 175 pounds. And again Baroni looked good, making quick work of his opponent with another first round technical knockout.

Two wins in a row for Baroni is a nice change of pace from losing five of seven prior to that. Even though the competition wasn't exactly top notch, Baroni was a guy whose confidence was probably at an all time low before these two wins.

A-level competition or not, a win is a win, especially for Baroni, who is looking to fight is way back into some high profile fights.

There was another fight on this card with the vacant 140-pound North American title on the line between Mark Oshiro -- who is referred to as the bantamweight Chuck Liddell -- and Bao Quach -- who came in on an eight fight winning streak.

Both of these guys are local favorites for the islanders, and this was a highly anticipated match up for them. In a hard fought three round battle, Quach was able to win over the judges for a unanimous decision, pushing his streak to nine in a row.

Check out the rest of the results for Icon Sport: "Hard Times" after the jump.

Star-divide

Sydney Silva defeats Hideto Kondo in Round 1 by submission (arm bar)
Mario Miranda defeats Jose Diaz by technical knockout in Round 1
Eddie Rincon defeats Dean Lista by unanimous decision
Ed Newalu defeats Ricky Hoku Wallace by unanimous decision
Maui Wolfgram defeats Richard Desforge by submission (rear naked choke) in Round 1
Kyle Miyahana defeats Brewski Louis by unanimous decision
Ola Silva and Ian Dela Cuesta fight to a No Contest after Dela Cuesta could not continue after being struck by a low blow
Brad Tavares defeats Devin Kauwe by technical knockout in Round 1
Alan Lima def. Mark Tajon by Submission (Arm Bar), R2

0 recs  |  Comment 21 comments

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hey mania, here is a good question and i assure you it’s very relevant; why the hell is there obama ads on the sidebar?

by storhaug on Aug 3, 2008 5:43 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

For real.

by protecdvs.com on Aug 3, 2008 6:40 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Mania was paid by Obama’s campaign manager or somethin’ to advertise…It’s a free country ain’t it? Long live capitalism!!

by TheNegation on Aug 3, 2008 11:02 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

doubt that

by protecdvs.com on Aug 5, 2008 1:46 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Phil…. Retire Tired of seeing you get your bad ass kicked

by DBG on Aug 3, 2008 6:04 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I don’t care if he doesn’t retire, I just don’t want to see that ‘Roid Raging G-String Wearing Asshole’ on tv… go fight in the little shows on the road somewhere.

by THORAZINE on Aug 4, 2008 2:21 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I guess a win is a win for Baroni, even though the guy he fought was 3-5. Gotta climb above .500 somehow.

by the_mexicutioner on Aug 3, 2008 6:06 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

who cares? he is crap and so is this organization. THey have a champion, Hose, who fights but doesnt defend his title. I mean, get real!

I dont like this organization at all!

by john on Aug 3, 2008 6:49 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I agree completely. Just a little sarcasm.

by the_mexicutioner on Aug 3, 2008 7:11 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

john: I would most likely not like ICON if I was from the STATES, BUT it’s all we got down here other than a few Elite XC shows. We are still awaiting our FIRST UFC event.. It seems like since ROTR and ICON merged with Elite XC, the events got worse.. I’ve attended the best MMA fight Hawaii’s ever seen when Robbie Lawler fought Frank Trigg. We had Mayem Miller, Robbie Lawler, Frank Trigg, etc in the organization. We also had the opportunity to see Rich Franklin, Tim Sylvia, Jason Lambert, and Matt Hughes fight in person.. I notice a lot of people hate on the lackluster cards that ICON creates, but any MMA shows we get in Hawaii are big for us fans out here..

by pUniSHment on Aug 3, 2008 8:59 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Right on right on, I know u guys luv MMA over there so I respect you supporting those MMA events no matter who it is.

by THORAZINE on Aug 4, 2008 2:24 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Anyone know if the guy who headbutted Baroni after his last fight got fined or banned or anything? NOT a Baroni fan by ANY means, but he handled that situation with some class.

by chefdaddy on Aug 4, 2008 7:51 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I dont care who he was fighting im just glad to see baroni get a couple wins.

by mike22 on Aug 3, 2008 6:30 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Im sure Phil feels the same way.

by the_mexicutioner on Aug 3, 2008 7:02 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

go baroni! i like phil and i think he can do well as long as he gets some more tools in his belt and doesnt come out as a brawler all the time… guys that are brawlers often have 500 records like that because its so hit or miss… his attitude is a little annoying but i think hes mostly doing it to be a showman and get people hyped for the fights

by brendan on Aug 3, 2008 8:41 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Baroni’s entrance was dumb. He came into the ring after Hose won the fight and asked for a rematch. I’d have to say the fight was pretty decent. Rolando Dominque had Hose in some serious trouble in the 1st round, but wasn’t able to pull anything off. Dominique looked pretty gassed in the 2nd round, and I think that’s a major reason why he lossed. I’d give fight of the night to Bao Quach vs Mark Oshiro.. It was a great showcase of 140 lb talent. Oshiro escaped numerous armbar submssions, but was dominated on the ground by Quach.. Although Oshiro lost the fight, I’m happy that he fought a top competition in Quach, as this fight will only make him better. I hope he one day has the opportunity to fight in the WEC, but it’s hard as he only is able to train at night because he is a full-time construction worker and soon to be electrical apprentice.

All the way from the 50th State

pUniSHment

by pUniSHment on Aug 3, 2008 6:56 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

anyone have a link for the baroni fight?

by brendan on Aug 3, 2008 8:57 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

And is this the only picture of Baroni?

by TheNegation on Aug 3, 2008 11:04 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

How ‘bout’ “ROID RAGING G-STRING WEARING JERKOFF” will that make it through moderation?

by THORAZINE on Aug 4, 2008 2:26 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

LOL… ok Phil Baroni is a “ROID RAGING G-STING WEARKING JERKOFF!”

by THORAZINE on Aug 4, 2008 2:27 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Sydney Silva looked great at his new weight. It was awesome to see Wanderlei Silva in his corner.

by tobias808 on Aug 4, 2008 2:38 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

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