Frank shamrock v baroni

cowzerp

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jun 22 -- Frank Juarez Shamrock will party in the Silicon Valley tonight like it was 1999.

For the first time since stepping away from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Shamrock reminded old fans what he had and introduced himself to a new generation by sparking memories and planting in minds that he was, in fact, once considered the best mixed martial artist on the planet.

Fighting more like the 26-year-old that stopped Tito Ortiz (Pictures) in Sept. ‘99 than the 34-year-old who came into his fight at the HP Pavilion off a terrible performance against Renzo Gracie (Pictures), Shamrock dominated before choking the loud Phil Baroni (Pictures) unconscious four minutes into the second period.

"To kick Baroni's ass with one leg and no cardio training was quite a feat," said Shamrock, who revealed after the fight that he tore both the ACL and MCL in his left knee while training at Team Quest in Temecula, Calif. just two weeks ago.'

Despite the severe injury, Shamrock said he never considered backing out of the anticipated fight, which drew 10,375 fans to the downtown arena.

"They could have wheeled me out in a wheelchair and I would have got up and fought," he said.

Countering off what Shamrock called an "achingly slow" Baroni jab, the adopted brother of Ken Shamrock (Pictures) connected with a bevy of lefts and rights that met their mark more than they missed.

"Baroni has an incredible chin," said Shamrock, now 22-8-1. "I could feel his chin on my knuckles, that's how hard I was hitting the guy and that he didn't go down in the first round was absolutely extraordinary."

One shot did drop the "New York Bad Ass," who in promotion leading up to the EliteXC middleweight title fight laid a brutal and at times hilarious verbal barrage that prompted promoter Gary Shaw to suggest if the 185-pounders fought liked they talked, fans would be in for the fight of the century.

Well, Shamrock-Baroni wasn't quite the fight of the century, but it was an entertaining clash that, if nothing else, helped quiet doubters who felt the former UFC champion had thrown his legacy out the window by fighting just four times against limited opposition since giving up the belt.

"I'm going to win them all back," Shamrock said of his detractors. "People just forget because they see what's shiny and pretty on TV, but they forget about the artists and how hard it is."

Better than his up-and-down 10-8-0 record would suggest, Baroni was easily the stiffest test Shamrock faced in years. The veteran middleweight slugger came out firing off the opening bell, buzzing wild strikes past Shamrock's head.

The two exchanged several times, with Shamrock gaining the advantage as the opening round played out. By the end of the first, Shamrock said his legs were "shot," his lungs were "burning" and he knew he was just about done -- odd considering of all his strengths, cardio always sat atop the list.

He might have been winded because of the beating he put on Baroni, which could have easily elicited a 10-8 round had referee Steve Mazzagatti not deducted a point after Shamrock illegally struck the back of his opponent's head twice.

Baroni, who said he blew out his groin in the beginning of the fight, rallied at the start of second period, yet a tired-looking Shamrock evidently had no problem absorbing power shots.

Having taken the best that Baroni could offer, Shamrock returned in kind, blasting away with a right and a left. The "New York Bad Ass" failed in his last-ditch effort to stay in the fight when Shamrock stopped a takedown attempt at his legs.

Shamrock secured back-control before the fight-ending choke. With Baroni on top of him unconscious, Shamrock shoved the local fighter away while the crowd roared.

"I'm definitely disappointed in myself but after this great war tonight I definitely have a lot of respect for Frank Shamrock (Pictures)," said Baroni.

While Shamrock showed tonight that he could still be a very good fighter, he also reminded us that despite coming back and saying he's a full-time mixed martial artist, he's not terribly interested in facing the top competitors in the sport unless there's a lot of money to be made - which ironically is why he left the sport in the first place.

"I've been in this a long time," he said. "I fought a guy with one knee tonight. I jeopardized my entire career to do this match for everybody tonight, including myself. Was that smart? I don't really know. Should I continue to do that against people that don't really have a name and aren't going to sell pay-per-view and bring wealth to my family? I don't know. The odds are probably not."

dlofnep

Twas a good scrap.

dunkamania

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I wonder how much Shamrock was affected by his knee injury,Baroni was done after the illegal strikes to the back of his head.

cmb.

the sad thing is, even with the injury, shamrock did not need to throw those rabbit punches as he has baroni out of the fight at that point - it was a good fight but i was dissapointed in frank yet again

droc

The illegal strikes were stupid, but I think they were more of a reflex than anything, look at Franks reaction, and they probably saved Baroni. He was done, he was pinned against the fence and stil dazed. When the ref stood them up Baroni got some time to recover.

DROC

dunkamania

Yeah It was all over at that stage,poor showing from Baroni.

Fozzy

From the Wrestling Observer:

Phil Baroni tested positive for Boldenone (Equipoise) and Stanozolol (Winstrol V) in his pre-match test before his fight with Frank Shamrock on 6/22 in San Jose.

Baroni, who was injured going into the fight and tore his groin off the bone early in the fight, has been suspended for one year and fined $2,500.

There seems to be a lot of guys getting caught recently, hopefully they cop on