Bobby Southworth | |
---|---|
Born |
Santa Cruz, California, United States |
December 16, 1969
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.
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.