Perhaps Phil "The New York Bad Ass" should have saved his breath.

The loquacious Baroni, who earlier this week boasted that no Hawaiian would claim the vacated Icon Sports world middleweigh title, ran out of gas then was run out of the Blaisdell Arena by local fighter Kala "Kolohe" Hose at last night's "To Hell and Back" Icon event.

Hose improved his professional record to 5-1 with his fifth-round knockout of Baroni, who was later taken by ambulance to The Queen's Medical Center.

Perhaps wary of Hose's stand-up prowess (Hose won all five of his fights by knockout), Baroni sacrificed his own strength as a striker to take Hose to the mat early.

And for a while, it seemed like a good tactic as Baroni expended much of his energy punching, kicking, kneeing and stomping Hose on the ground.

"I was in a little bit of trouble when he was stomping me," Hose admitted. "I was feeling it."

But Hose said he anticipated Baroni's fight plan and did his best to absorb Baroni's early rush. Accustomed to fighting from the bottom, Hose actually generated more offense from his back than Baroni could from the top.

By the second round, Baroni was clearly exhausted and Hose went on the offensive. Hose caught Baroni in a reverse headlock as Baroni rushed in then used his leverage to bring Baroni to all fours. There, he repeatedly snuck hard right hooks under Baroni's extended left arm that connected flush with Baroni's chin and mouth.

Baroni spent much of the third round rotating on his New York Bad part, unwilling to risk getting to his feet as Hose casually stalked him from a standing position. Hose worked Baroni with short kicks to the legs before plunging in to deliver straight rights to Baroni's face.

Hose was clearly in control in the fourth and he staggered Baroni with a right hook-left uppercut combination. Baroni, his nose possibly broken, was deducted a point later in the round for fleeing.

Hose put the fight away early in the fifth with a left-right-left combination that sent Baroni to the ropes and down to the canvas. Two devastating straight rights later, the referee stopped the fight.

With the victory, Hose claimed the championship vacated when Icon stripped Robbie Lawler of his title for failing to defend it. Lawler won the belt a year ago but dropped out of three scheduled title defenses due to injury.

Hose said he's willing to fight Lawler or anyone else who deserves a shot.

"I'll fight anybody," he said.

In the lead-up to the main event, Jeremy "Half-Man Half-Amazing) Williams improved his record to 5-0 with a first-round knock out of local fighter Auggie Padekan. Williams knocked down Padekan with a right hook then followed up with another right as Padekan lay on the mat to end the fight 2 minutes and 18 seconds into the round.

In an earlier bout, Sadhu Bott defeated Bronson "The Chosen One" Pieper to win the state championship in the 145-pound class.

Trailing for most of the brief fight, Bott took advantage of his superior length, leveraging his leg around Pieper's neck from the supine position to set up the decisive arm bar. Pieper hung on for several seconds before finally tapping out. With the win, Bott improved his record to 3-0.

Reach Michael Tsai at 535-2461 or mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com

WORLD MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

Kala Hose def. Phil Baroni (5 rd. KO)

205 (CO-MAIN EVENT)

Jeremy Williams def. Auggie Padekan (1 rd. KO)

145 (STATE CHAMPIONSHIP)

Sadhu Bott def. Bronson Pieper (1 rd. submission)

175

Kona Ke def. Isaac Luke (1 rd. submission)

170

Koa Ramos def. Wayne Perrin, III (1 rd. submission)

170

Brennan Kamaka def. Ross Ebanez (1st rd. KO)

160

P.J. Dean def. Eddie Kahanu Rincon (3 rd. dec.)

150

Alan Lima def. David Padilla (3 rd. dec.)

145

Matt Coneau def. Elias Delo Reyes (2 rd. TKO)

145

Ricky Hoku Wallace def. Colin Mackenzie (2 rd. submission)

135

Russell Doane def. Tyson Nam (1 rd. KO)

135

Dwayne Haney def. Zack Rapal (1 rd. submission)

135

Jay Bolos def. Nui Wheeler (2 rd. TKO)

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.