Bobby Southworth

Bobby Southworth
Born (1969-12-16) 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
Years active 1999–2003, 2005–2008,
2010–present
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

Bobby Southworth (born December 16, 1969) is an American mixed martial artist fighting in the Light-Heavyweight division.

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.[1]

Personal life

Bobby also said on an episode of The Ultimate Fighter that he's adopted. Bobby has three children, a 20 year old daughter, a 9 year old son and a 5 month old daughter.[2]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

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 Loses 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 Defends 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 for Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship.
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 Wins the vacant 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

  1. Dann Stupp. ""The Ultimate Fighter 11" tryouts draw Bobby Southworth, Nick Thompson, Logan Clark". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  2. 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
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