Barrage brings Lawler title
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
| |||
 |
|
||
| |||
|
|
||
In his first bout as a member of the "Hit Squad," Robbie Lawler was a huge hit.
Lawler defeated Brazil's Murilo "Ninja" Rua by knockout in the third round to win the EliteXC organization's middleweight world championship yesterday.
A raucous crowd of around 5,000 at the Blaisdell Center Arena erupted in cheers as Lawler stood triumphantly over the unconscious Rua.
It was the main event of the EliteXC's "Uprising" card that was televised nationally on the Showtime cable network.
"As soon as I stepped into the (cage) I was confident I was going to knock him out," Lawler said. "Not to take anything away from him, but I was confident."
Lawler dropped Rua with a right uppercut to the jaw early in the third round, then followed up with a series of brutal punches to the downed Rua.
The referee stopped it 2 minutes, 4 seconds, into the round. It was scheduled for five five-minute rounds.
The first two rounds were close, with both fighters landing effective punches. However, the key may have been Lawler's ability to defend Rua's takedowns.
Rua is considered an expert in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but he was never able to take Lawler to the ground.
"I know how to wrestle," Lawler said. "And I really worked hard on my cardio for this fight."
It was Lawler's first bout as a member the "Hit Squad" gym in Illinois, which he is going to help run with former world champion Matt Hughes.
Lawler and Hughes thought referee Mario Yamasaki allowed Rua to absorb "maybe three or four" unnecessary punches at the end of the fight.
"He was gone from the start and I had to go in and do my job," Lawler said. "But we have to keep the fighters safe and I didn't feel like that needed to happen."
In any case, Lawler has now won the middleweight (185 pounds) championship for two different organizations in Hawai'i. His Icon Sport title was not on the line last night.
Lawler, who improved to 15-4 with his 12th knockout, is expected to defend the Icon Sport title against Kala Kolohe Hose on Nov. 17.
Rua, who was defending the EliteXC championship for the first time, dropped to 14-8-1.
In the other Showtime televised bouts:
Both fighters ended the bout with bloodied faces, and Aina received a standing ovation from the crowd after the final horn sounded.
"It was a close fight ... I thought I landed the harder shots," Aina said. "I was happy the way it turned out, even though I lost."
Diaz, who is the No. 7-ranked lightweight in the world by Fight Magazine, improved to 15-6. He was fighting for the first time since serving a six-month suspension after testing positive for marijuana in February.
"I felt good in there, but I wanted to play it safe," Diaz said. "I wasn't trying to do anything crazy. I just wanted to get the win."
Aina, who was considered a decided underdog, dropped to 9-6-1. EliteXC officials announced after the bout that Aina would be invited back for future nationally televised bouts.
Shields worked his way on top of Verissimo in the "mount" position midway through the opening round, and then proceeded to unleash a series of unanswered punches. The referee stopped the bout 4:00 into the first round.
"I can't believe it. He got me in a mount," Verissimo said. "I tried to get out of it, but couldn't. This is disappointing. Everything was fine until he took me down."
Shields improved to 19-4-1, while Verissimo dropped to 8-5.
Both fighters landed effective punches and kicks throughout the bout, but neither could put the other one down. The bout lasted three five-minute rounds, and the action was consistent throughout.
Villasenor improved to 24-6, and Fukuda dropped to 8-3.
Carano, who is considered the most popular female competitor in mixed martial arts, got on Evinger's back and then put on a rear-naked choke hold. Evinger submitted 2:53 into the first round.
"I pulled off a submission — my first one — so I was happy about that," Carano said. "But I didn't get to use any punches or kicks so I feel unfulfilled."
Carano improved to 5-0, while Evinger dropped to 5-2.
EliteXC officials announced after the bout that Carano would likely fight for an inaugural women's world championship in her next bout.
PROELITE.COM BOUTS
Nam improved 4-1; Manners dropped to 7-7.
Hose bombarded Cox with punches to the body and head soon after the opening horn, prompting the referee to stop the bout.
Hose, who improved to 4-1, is scheduled to face Robbie Lawler for the Icon Sport middleweight championship on Nov. 17.
Kurano, who is 38, was making his debut in mixed martial arts.
PRELIMINARY BOUTS
Choy Foo appeared to have control early in the bout, but Buchholz rallied and landed several punches, prompting the referee to stop the contest, 1:35 into the first round.
Buchholz was then invited by Showtime officials to appear on a mixed martial arts card, scheduled for national broadcast on Oct. 26.
Buchholz improved to 7-1; Choy Foo dropped to 1-2.
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.
