Extreme Fighting Challenge 11

Columbus, Ohio

Bo Kimly’s Extreme Fighting Challenge 11 pulled out all stops when it came to filling the bill for one of the fastest growing MMA promotions in the region. Of course featuring a main event with the NY Bad Ass Phil Baroni was sure to draw a crowd of MMA loyalists, however this particular weekend gave many of the stars of MMA a chance to attend while in Columbus for the Arnold Fitness Classic Weekend. Mark Coleman, Wes Sims, and Shonie Carter were all in attendance as well as boxing legends Hector Macho Camacho and Vinny Pazienza who was also in Baronis corner for the main event. For the second straight show it was standing room only at Promo West Pavilion which is located in the heart of downtown Columbus, Oh. The set up is unique but very fitting for an event which draws such an enthusiastic fan base and doesn't have a bad seat in the house. The card featured a total of sixteen fights, three of which were for EFC titles. Cleveland’s Jason Dent defended his lightweight belt with an exciting performance over EFC veteran and #1 contender Primo Luciano. The bad news for Dent was a broken hand which needed surgery and will keep him out of competition for the next 3 months. Todd Seyler took out Travis Burnett in a very evenly contested and fast paced match-up to win the EFC light heavyweight title. In a battle of Canada, it was Joseph Geris over Grant Manske by first round submission earning him the title of EFC heavyweight champion. In the main event, it was the hometown hero and heavy underdog Chris “Cranial Damage” Cruit taking on the motivated Phil Baroni. It’s no secret that Baroni has been scuffling in recent fights and could not afford a loss to a fighter with a sub five hundred record. Baroni looked confident even during his walk to the ring (he sported his all silver NY Yankees robe) and you could sense the crowd was anxious to see the NY bad Ass in action. It didn’t take long for Baroni to gain control of Cruit who looked like he wanted no part of Baroni on his feet, and rightly so as Cruit has a mostly wrestling background. Even on the ground, Baroni had his way landing blow after blow to all parts of Cruits body. At one point, midway through the first round, Cruits corner actually threw in the towel, but after a short meeting by EFC officials and chorus of heavy boos from the crowd, it was determined to be a mistake by an outside party and the fight was allowed to continue. Cruit ended up surviving the first round but found himself in a similar situation quickly in the second. To nearly everyone's surprise Baroni finished Cruit with a submission (kimura) at 1:02 of the second round, but several things were made evident from this fight. 1.Baroni has been working on his ground game 2.Baroni has been working on his stamina 3. Chris Cruit can take a lot of punishment and has a very fitting nickname.After the fight Baroni addressed the crowd and thanked his fans who haven’t counted him out. He considers this fight a fresh start and stated that in his eyes he is now 1-0. He told PKW that he is currently working with Mark Coleman in hopes of possibly getting a fight in Japan with PRIDE FC. Baroni will be fighting Ohio’s Trevor Garrett on March 18th and plans to stay very active over the next few months. PKW’s exclusive Phil Baroni post fight audio interview is now available in our “Fighters View” section.EFC 12 is tentatively set for this coming May in Columbus. Congratulations to Bo Kimly and the entire EFC crew for a great night of MMA action. You can visit http://www.extremefightingchallenge.net/ for future EFC events and info. Written by:Greg KalikasExtreme Fighting Challenge 11 Complete ResultsMichael Lutz over Charles Lopresti – 2:50 1st Rd KO Joshua Wright over Scott DiSorno – 3:01 1st Rd Submission (rnc)Richy Karst over Van Daranikone – 2:37 1st Rd TKO (strikes)Scott Wolford over Phill Parker – 2:06 1st Rd Submission (rnc)Derek Collins over Dan Wallon – 2:17 1st Rd Submission (armbar)Jimmy Rommel over Rich Bivens – 1:06 1st Rd Submission (neck )Matthew Brown over Gary Young - 3:47 1st Rd Submission (choke)Joseph Ezella over Nick Baez - 1:40 3rd Rd Submission (choke)Damon Shuter over Tim Sample – 1:321st Rd Submission (armbar)Aron Crowell over Jesse Deweese – 2:37 2nd Rd TKO (strikes)Albert Rosales over Zach Hummel – 1:35 1st Rd Submission (rnc)Tobin Thomas over Cole Furbee – 0:56 1st Rd Submission (choke)Jason Dent over Primo Luciano – 2:52 1st Rd TKO (strikes)Todd Seylor over Travis Burnett 1st Rd – 1:25 Submission (strikes)Joseph Geris over Grant Manske - 1st Rd Submission (choke)Phil Baroni over Chris Cruit 2nd Rd - 1:02 Submission (kimura)