No Way, Hose!
Everyone who streamed Icon Sport: To Hell and Back live Saturday at ProElite.com witnessed something special.
Why do fighters fight?
Versus “The New York Bad Ass” Phil Baroni (10-9) for the Icon Sport Middleweight World Championship, Hawaii’s Kala Kolohe Hose (6-1) found his answer.
Hose found out what he’s made of, inside and out.
At the opening bell, “Bad Ass” catapulted out of his corner with bad intentions. He easily dumped Hose to the mat with a double leg takedown and dumped leather in Hose’s face.
The island boy bucked and dodged as Baroni punched, scrambled, and stomped at Hose’s head.
“I honestly thought I was in trouble at that point,” Hose said.
The doubters must’ve been right. The local boy was outclassed by the international journeyman.
But, three minutes into round one, Baroni began to whither, heaving for air. Hose was gassed too after the initial adrenaline dump of his first title fight.
Despite the hype, it was Baroni’s first title fight too. After a three minute ground’n'pound barrage, Baroni was done.
The final two minutes of round one wound down with the fighters on the mat gasping for air.
The New Yorker never met his rep as a big puncher, never even really tried.
In the second round, Baroni took Hose back to the mat where Hose attempted a Kimura without proper leverage. Baroni toughed out the arm twist, but, before round two closed, Hose began pin-pointing punches.
By round three, Baroni’s hands dangled at his waist and, when distance allowed, he bent over with his hands on his knees for breathers.
Hose had recovered from the initial energy dump and found his game standing and on the ground.
When Baroni could no longer weather Hose’s punches, kicks, and knees, he’d shoot sluggishly and Hose would stuff him and tenderize his kidneys with hooking body punches.
Confidence that wasn’t present in Hose as he entered Icon Sport’s ring, now swelled the Waianae kid’s chest. He was sure he belonged in the ring with Baroni. He was going to win.
Baroni was deducted a point in the fourth round for continually throwing himself beneath the ropes to avoid Hose’s onslaughts.
At the beginning of round five, the Hawaiian tossed a big right hand in Baroni’s face. Baroni crumbled and Hose unloaded over top of him.
At :26 of round five, the grueling slog was called by TKO for Kala Kolohe Hose, Icon Sport’s new middleweight world titlist.
“It feels good. I’d like to thank everybody out there,” a bashful, but ecstatic Hose announced after the fight.
An Icon Sports announcer called Hose’s TKO of Baroni, “One of the biggest upsets in MMA history.”
Not quite. Don’t overrate 10-9 Baroni. However, with the “W” comes a new confidence for Hose, enough now to meet former champ “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4) with some mo’.
On the undercard, the Icon Sport’s Hawaii 145-pound strap also found a new waist. “The Chosen One” and now former champ Bronsen Pieper (2-1) blocked a lunging right hook from Sadhu Bott (3-0) with his face. Pieper crumbled forward and Bott took his back. The islanders scrambled until Bott sucked an arm into an armbar. Pieper held on longer than necessary, but tapped in agony at 4:33 of round one.
It took BJ Penn’s training partner “Da Boss” Ross Ebanez (18-6) just nine seconds to knockout 175-pound Brennan Kamaka (3-12) with a left hook that nearly sent Kamaka through the ropes.
Legend’s Gym fighter “Half Man Half Amazing” Jeremy Williams (5-0) matched Ebanez with his own left hook that knocked out “The Warrior” Auggie Padekan at 2:18 of round one.
“I’m looking for an Icon world title,” Williams announced, then noted, “I can either fight in Iowa or in Hawaii.”
At 135-pounds, Russell Doane (2-1) upset Icon vet Tyson Nam (4-2). Doane began with a slick single leg takedown, but Nam smartly regained his feet as Doane stood to slam him. Nam landed a stinging left hand, but Doane finagled the fight back to the mat and pounded Nam out at 3:53 of round one.
“Pretty Boy” Wayne Perrin, III (1-2) was probably feeling out 170-pound Koa Ramos (4-0) when he threw a lazy right high kick. Ramos took the opportunity to plant Perrin III into the mat and pound “Pretty Boy” until he gave up his back for a first round guillotine choke submission.
“P.J. is animal, brah,” 160-pound Eddie Rincon described PJ Dean (1-2) after losing a unanimous decision to the Hawaiian.
Rincon pulled guard to open round one and got slobber-knocked into the mat the rest of the three round fight.
“I ain’t no steppin’ stone for nobody,” said Dean.
145-pound Matt Comeau (2-1) flattened Elias Delos Reyes (1-1) out and pound him to a second round TKO.
“The Tan Superman” David Padilla (7-13) and lightweight Alan Lima (2-0) spent three romantic rounds on the mat before the BJJ player, Lima, was awarded a unanimous decision.
135-pound Duane Haney (3-0) tapped touted striker Zack Rapal (0-1) in a guillotine choke as Rapal tried to stand out of guard.
145-pound Brandon Pieper (0-4) tapped out to “Hoku” Ricky Wallace (1-2) of Icon Gym at :37 seconds of round one in a standing guillotine.
Jay Bolos (1-3) walked his guard up the back of “Soljah Boy” Nui Wheeler (0-3) right into an armbar for the tap in round two.
In the first fight, Kona Ke lit-up Micah Ige with a right hook as Ige sought to clinch. Ige fell forward and Ke threw him to the mat, fell on him, and wrapped up a rear naked choke for the tap.
