Carneiro Tops Patino at Shine Fights 2; Edwards Victorious

MIAMI, Fla. -- Roan Carneiro defeated fellow UFC veteran Jorge Patino by unanimous decision in the main event at Shine Fights 2 “American Top Team vs. The World” on Friday at the James L. Knight Center.

The two well-rounded Brazilians tested each other’s skills throughout their three-round affair. They fought mostly on the ground, and the crowd of almost 2,000 did not approve. The referee had to return the fighters to their feet when the action stalled on a number of occasions.

Patino struck first in round one, as he landed body kicks that failed to exact much of a toll on Carneiro, a Pan-American Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion. Eventually, the battle spilled onto the ground, where Carneiro worked from half guard. Patino ultimately swept the ATT representative and landed some vicious elbows from the top position. However, Carneiro recovered rapidly and attempted an armbar from the bottom.

Carneiro fired some powerful knees that grazed his opponent, but the bout moved back to the ground in the second round. The crowd was firmly behind Carneiro in round three, as the fighters spent most of their time on the mat. In the last minute, Carneiro missed with a sloppy jab and was met by a stout overhand right from Patino, though no harm was done.

All three judges sided with Carneiro, who snapped a two-fight losing streak and won for just the third time in seven fights. Patino has lost two of three.

Meanwhile, Yves Edwards followed his ATT teammate’s lead in the co-featured bout, as he submitted EliteXC veteran James Warfield with a triangle choke 4:48 into round two.

Edwards’ considerable skill and experience proved too great to overcome for Warfield -- a late replacement for Mario Stapel, who withdrew from the match to deal with personal matters.

The 32-year-old Edwards put an end to his two-fight skid and rebounded from an injury to post his first victory of 2009. The one-time EliteXC lightweight title challenger connected with a round kick in the first period and then brought Warfield into the clinch where he did damage with knees to the head. Edwards later took down his Wisconsin-based foe. However, Warfield reversed the position and attempted a rear-naked choke, which failed.

In the second round, Warfield unleashed some right hooks and a Superman punch but had no luck. When the battle hit the ground again, Edwards cinched a triangle choke for the tapout.

Edwards called the fight a wakeup call.

“He hits hard,” Edwards said. “He hit me with one shot and it kind of rocked me, but I think this is what I needed -- to feel some pain to make sure this is what I want to do.”

Elsewhere, ATT standout, Micah Miller submitted Anthony Morrison by arm-triangle choke 4:25 into round two. The 22-year-old Georgian has rattled off three straight victories since his decision loss to former King of Pancrase Yoshiro Maeda at Dream 7 in March.

A World Extreme Cagefighting veteran, Miller sucked up some nasty leg kicks from his opponent. Morrison later took Miller into a clinch against the cage, where both men exchanged knees to the body. Miller’s talent took hold in round two, as he grounded Morrison, secured side control and finished the fight.

Finally, former University of Miami football player Brian Fuery won his professional mixed martial arts debut, as he submitted Phil Friedman 2:03 into the opening round.

Other Bouts
Luiz Firmino def. Ryan Healy -- Unanimous Decision
Flavio Alvaro def. Jean Silva -- Majority Decision
Junior Assuncao def. Pete Grimes -- Split Decision
Herbert Goodman def. James Brasco -- TKO (Punches) 3:24 R3