Bobby Southworth
Bobby Masai Southworth (born December 16, 1969)[2] is a retired American mixed martial artist fighting in the Light Heavyweight division.
| Bobby Southworth | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bobby Masai Southworth December 16, 1969 Santa Cruz, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 228 lb (103 kg; 16.3 st) |
| Division | Light Heavyweight Heavyweight |
| Reach | 76 in (193 cm) |
| Fighting out of | Santa Cruz, California |
| Team | American Kickboxing Academy |
| Rank | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Dave Camarillo[1] |
| Years active | 1999–2010 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 17 |
| Wins | 10 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 4 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Losses | 6 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 1 |
| No contests | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
He has fought in PRIDE FC and appeared on Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter. He was the first Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion.
Mixed martial arts
Southworth's first major exposure in the mixed martial arts world was when he faced Vitor Belfort at PRIDE 13. Southworth was overwhelmed by the Brazilian veteran and lost by rear naked choke in the first round.
Southworth then appeared on Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter. He won his first preliminary fight against Lodune Sincaid, but lost the second versus Stephan Bonnar by split decision. Bobby returned to the house as a possible replacement for Forrest Griffin, should he not have been medically cleared to fight in the semifinals, but Forrest's cut healed safely and Southworth did not fight again until the undercard of the finale, where he fought a man he picked on in the house Sam Hoger and was defeated. It was a unanimous decision victory for Sam Hoger.
Southworth next moved to Strikeforce, where his first fight was against James "The Sandman" Irvin. The bout was declared a No-Contest after a mere 17 seconds when in a freak accident, Southworth and Irvin's clinch pressed against the cage, pushing open the cage door and causing Irvin to fall out of the ring. In his next fight, Southworth was given the opportunity to fight for Strikeforce's vacant light heavyweight championship against Vernon "Tiger" White. Southworth won a decision victory, taking White down repeatedly and controlling the pace of the match. Southworth's next fight was a non-title bout against Anthony Ruiz, a fight that Ruiz won by way of TKO (cut) in round 2. A rematch was set up, but this time it would be for Southworth's championship. In a rather slow-paced fight, Southworth defeated Ruiz via 5-round Unanimous Decision on June 27, 2008 and thus became the only man to successfully defend the championship.
In his next title defense, at Strikeforce: Destruction on November 21, 2008, Southworth lost the light heavyweight championship against former UFC Light Heavyweight fighter Renato Sobral "Babalu" by TKO (cut) of the 1st round at 5:00. Southworth was winning the round, having scored a takedown and controlling the clinch, until "Babalu" opened up a horrendous gash above Bobby's left eye with ten seconds to go. "Big" John McCarthy stopped the action to let doctors inspect, and Southworth finished the round by dropping "Babalu" with a punch just before the bell. However, when doctors got a better look at the wound between rounds, the fight was stopped due to the size and depth of the cut. Southworth announced he would like a rematch and Sobral verbally agreed, however a rematch was never organized and following Sobral's 2013 retirement it is unlikely a rematch would ever occur.
Southworth also tried out for 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter. However, despite the fact that the both Middleweights and Light-Heavyweights were invited to try out, the UFC decided that the season would focus exclusively on Middleweights.[3]
Personal life
Bobby also said on an episode of The Ultimate Fighter that he's adopted. Bobby has four children, 3 daughters and one son.[4]
Championships and accomplishments
- Strikeforce
- Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship (One time, First)
- One Successful Title Defense
- The only fighter to have successfully defended the Light Heavyweight Championship
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 17 matches | 10 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 4 | 3 |
| By submission | 4 | 2 |
| By decision | 2 | 1 |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 10–6 (1) | Aaron Boyes | TKO (punches) | Xtreame MMA 2 | July 31, 2010 | 1 | 1:56 | Sydney, NSW, Australia | |
| Loss | 9–6 (1) | Renato Sobral | TKO (cut) | Strikeforce: Destruction | November 21, 2008 | 1 | 5:00 | San Jose, California, United States | Lost the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 9–5 (1) | Anthony Ruiz | Decision (unanimous) | Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson | June 27, 2008 | 5 | 5:00 | San Jose, California, United States | Defended the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship. |
| Loss | 8–5 (1) | Anthony Ruiz | TKO (cut) | Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives | November 16, 2007 | 2 | 0:52 | San Jose, California, United States | Non-title bout. |
| Win | 8–4 (1) | Bill Mahood | Submission (verbal - injured ribs) | Strikeforce: Playboy Mansion | September 29, 2007 | 1 | 1:15 | Beverly Hills, California, United States | |
| Win | 7–4 (1) | Vernon White | Decision (unanimous) | Strikeforce: Triple Threat | December 8, 2006 | 5 | 5:00 | San Jose, California, United States | Won the inaugural Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship. |
| NC | 6–4 (1) | James Irvin | No Contest | Strikeforce: Revenge | June 9, 2006 | 1 | 0:17 | San Jose, California, United States | Both Fighters Fell From the Cage. |
| Loss | 6–4 | Sam Hoger | Decision (unanimous) | The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale | April 9, 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 6–3 | Bryan Pardoe | TKO | X-1 | September 6, 2003 | 2 | 0:14 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Win | 5–3 | Brian Vanderwalle | Submission (armbar) | IFC WC 18 - Big Valley Brawl | July 19, 2003 | 1 | 4:28 | Lakeport, California, United States | |
| Loss | 4–3 | David Paaluhi | KO | Warriors Quest 4: Genesis | March 29, 2002 | 1 | 0:16 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Win | 4–2 | Floyd Sword | TKO | IFC WC 14 - Warriors Challenge 14 | July 18, 2001 | 3 | 5:00 | California, United States | |
| Loss | 3–2 | Vitor Belfort | Submission (rear naked choke) | Pride 13 - Collision Course | March 25, 2001 | 1 | 4:09 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 3–1 | Ivan Sequet | Submission (strikes) | Bushido 1 | January 18, 2001 | 1 | Tempe, Arizona, United States | ||
| Win | 2–1 | Toby Oberdine | Submission (choke) | IFC WC 10 - Warriors Challenge 10 | October 11, 2000 | 1 | 2:30 | Friant, California, United States | |
| Win | 1–1 | Bob Ostovich | TKO (punches) | SB 12 - SuperBrawl 12 | June 1, 1999 | 1 | 4:22 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Loss | 0–1 | Jason Godsey | Submission (choke) | Neutral Grounds 12 | May 28, 1999 | N/A | United States |
References
- "AKA Texas". akatexas.com.
- Mixed martial arts show results Date: April 9, 2005
- Dann Stupp. ""The Ultimate Fighter 11" tryouts draw Bobby Southworth, Nick Thompson, Logan Clark". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- Archived April 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
External links
| New championship | 1st Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion December 8, 2006-November 21, 2008 |
Succeeded by Renato Sobral |