by: Cory Brady
Phil Baroni added to his comeback trail with his second consecutive highlight reel knockout in the 170 pound division at last night’s Icon “Hard Times” event. Following a short exchange, the New York Bad Ass was able to clinch up Ron Verdadero and drop him to the canvas with a series of devastating right hands. The short but violent brawl was waved off at the 0:51 second mark of the first round giving Baroni another much needed victory. After the fight, Baroni took the opportunity to grab the mic and challenge Kala “Kolohe” Hose to a rematch before blowing kisses to the angry crowd and flashing the shaka sign before making his exit in typical flamboyant Baroni fashion.
The card’s main event saw Icon’s middleweight champion, Kala “Kolohe” Hose, go up against undefeated Rolando Dominique in a non-title bout. Dominique was able to stun Hose midway through the second round with vicious roundhouse kicks and left hook/right uppercut combinations. While Hose was staggered he managed to keep Dominique at bay with wild, yet powerful shots and survived the round. Dominique was visibly gassed at the start of the second round with his mouth hanging open, gasping to catch his breath. After a brief exchange, Hose was able to secure a takedown on Dominique where he dropped punch after punch on his beaten opponent until the referee waved the contest off at the 1:05 mark of the second round.
After Hose’s fight, Phil Baroni took it upon himself to climb into the ring to issue a challenge directly to Hose. Hose stated that he will fight whoever wins an upcoming tournament to determine his next opponent. There’s a good possibility that Baroni would take part in a tournament of that sort if it happens to hopefully set up an action packed rematch between the two brawlers.
Here’s a full list of the night’s results.
Kala “Kolohe” Hose def. Rolando Dominique, Rd. 2 TKO
Phil Baroni def. Ron Verdadero, Rd. 1 TKO.
Bao Quach def. Mark Oshiro, Rd. 3 dec.
Maui Wolfgram def. Richard Desforge, Rd. 1 submission (choke).
Mario Miranda def. Jose Diaz, Rd. 1 TKO.
Kyle Miyahana def. Brewski Louis, Rd. 3 dec.
Devin Kauwae def. Brad Tavares, Rd. 1 TKO.
Eddie Rincon def. Dean Lista, Rd. 3 dec.
Sydney Silva def. Hideto Kondo, Rd. 1 submission (arm bar).
Ed Newalu def. Ricky Hoku Wallace, Rd. 3 dec.
Alan Lima def. Mark Tajon, Rd. 2 submission (arm bar).
Ian Dela Cuesta vs. Ola Silva, no contest