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Report: Phil Baroni “I Want to Matter Again”

Back when your local pub would receive more requests to show bowling than the UFC, the tiny world of MMA was often a buzz about Phil “The New York Bad Ass” Baroni. Not just because of his ‘is this guy serious?’ showmanship, but also because of his ability to violently bounce opponent’s heads with his […]

phil-baroni

Back when your local pub would receive more requests to show bowling than the UFC, the tiny world of MMA was often a buzz about Phil “The New York Bad Ass” Baroni. Not just because of his ‘is this guy serious?’ showmanship, but also because of his ability to violently bounce opponent’s heads with his fists. Baroni’s KTFO victory over Dave Menne at UFC 39 remains a highlight reel favorite; not bad for a clip that’s nearly 8 years old.

Of course Baroni’s career has had some ups, and quite a few downs, but a lot of old school fans continue to want to see him throw down. Case in point, the UFC brought Baroni back after he lost by UD to Joe Riggs at a Strikeforce event last June; how often does that happen?

Up next, Baroni was scheduled to fight John Salter at UFC 118 next month, but as bad luck would have it, the NYBA injured his collarbone in training and was forced to drop out. In a revealing interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, Baroni not only talked about his financial need to fight, but also, his desire to regain some of the notoriety he once had. Here’s a sample:

“I just want to be a contender. I want respect from my peers, the fans, media and the promotions. I wanted to say, ‘I’m still here, don’t f**king forget about me. I’m not dead yet. I want to be a contender — I want to matter again. I want to be the biggest comeback story ever — a Cinderella Man.”

Alright, the sceptical alarm as to whether that’s possible is sounding, but that’s a pre-req for any comeback story no?

Jake Shields Says Return to Welterweight Was His Decision

It’s been a few days since the UFC confirmed the signing of Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields (yes, yes, technically he’s the ‘former’- but really, until blood is spilt over winning the vacated belt why argue?) and it’s probably still too soon to tell, whether the average TUF generation fan even gives a damn about […]

It’s been a few days since the UFC confirmed the signing of Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields (yes, yes, technically he’s the ‘former’- but really, until blood is spilt over winning the vacated belt why argue?) and it’s probably still too soon to tell, whether the average TUF generation fan even gives a damn about his upcoming Octagon debut. Of course, Shields has long been a highly regarded fighter in the eyes of MMA nerds and pundits, but there’s a ton of people who’ve never seem the grappling master cruise through an opponent like Dan Henderson (save the first round beat down of course).

As far as the aforementioned hardcore fans, as always, we continue to discuss and debate every last detail of the Shields signing (you could do a lot worse). What, if any, will be the impact on Strikeforce? How will Shields fair in the UFC? And who and why was it determined that Shields should return to the welterweight division? (You may recall that Dana White stated he believed Shields was better suited to compete at 170)

Well, speaking on MMA Weekly Radio recently, Shields had this to say about making his UFC debut as a welterweight.

“They called and asked if I wanted (Martin Kampmann) at 70 and I said sure. They didn’t give me any pressure; they gave me the option. Some people were saying I was forced to go down, which certainly wasn’t the case. They said I could fight at either weight, but they offered me a fight at 70, and I was like I might as well jump and take it.”

Next topic or?

Jon Jones Doesn’t Have a “Hard Time” Calling James Toney “Ignorant”

We’ve tried (as best we can) to keep our readers up to speed on the ‘what will he say next’ watch for James Toney, as the renowned boxer continues to prepare for his MMA debut against Randy Couture, August 28th. If you’ve followed Mr. Toney’s pugilistic career to date, then you know that the boxing […]

We’ve tried (as best we can) to keep our readers up to speed on the ‘what will he say next’ watch for James Toney, as the renowned boxer continues to prepare for his MMA debut against Randy Couture, August 28^th. If you’ve followed Mr. Toney’s pugilistic career to date, then you know that the boxing champ isn’t exactly known for clamming up when a mic is around, and not much has changed on that front as he prepares to face Couture. If you’re a MMA loyalist then you’ve likely either laughed hysterically, or perhaps even tried to tear up your wasting time / working on the computer bib, while reading comments like this.

Well, it seems like Jon Jones has also been monitoring Toney’s rhetoric heading into his Octagon debut at UFC 118, as according to a report on MMA Bay, the rising prospect was recently quoted saying on Tapout radio:

“Do you really think you’re going to uppercut a collegiate wrestler when he’s coming full force into a double leg dive? I think he [James Toney] is just really naive to think that with hand combinations alone he’s going to be able to defend takedowns from the clinch and double leg dives. So I think he’s just ignorant in a way and I don’t really have a hard time calling him ignorant because of some of the statements he’s made about our sport.”

You’ll find no disagreements here Jon (not that we would necessarily have the balls to tell you otherwise even if we thought otherwise…). If Toney does find a way to KO Couture…wow…you think Toney is pissing off some MMA fans now?

Pat Barry Told Mirko “Cro Cop” His Hand Was Broken During UFC 115 Bout

Now depending on how you’ve been spending your free time since June (as certain ‘recreational activities’ have been known to diminish one’s memory), you may or may not recall Pat Barry dropping Mirko “Cro Cop” at UFC 115, only to let the legendary fighter get back to his feet. At the time many were perplexed […]

Now depending on how you’ve been spending your free time since June (as certain ‘recreational activities’ have been known to diminish one’s memory), you may or may not recall Pat Barry dropping Mirko “Cro Cop” at UFC 115, only to let the legendary fighter get back to his feet. At the time many were perplexed by the fact that Barry didn’t swarm in for the finish, particularly because the bout soon turned in Cro Cop’s favor, who went on to tap out his younger opponent in the third round.

Well as it turned out, Barry had a pretty damn good reason as to why he didn’t swarm Cro Cop early in the bout; the punch that put Mirko on his ass also shattered Barry’s hand. We’re guessing searing pain like that justifies some hesitation…In an interesting interview with MMA Fighting Barry discussed not only breaking his hand in the fight, but also his foot, which apparently had Cro Cop wondering soon after:

“We were on the ground in the second and he was on top of me punching me and he asked me what was wrong,” said Barry. “He said, ‘What’s wrong with you? Why’d you stop fighting?’ I told him, ‘I broke my hand,’ and he was like, ‘Bullsh*t.’ I said, ‘No sir. My hand is broken. That hand is gone.’”

Wow. There’s some honesty for you. Maybe Barry’s injuries partially explain why Cro Cop has been humming and hawing about retirement; taking nothing away from the legend, but this does dampen the ‘Cro Cop’s back’ mood a little no?

Anderson Silva’s Manager Ed Soares Tells GSP They’ll Be “Waiting”

Now, depending on your personality you may have had a few different reactions to the above headline, varying from uncontrolled ‘OMG please let it be true’ ecstasy, to the more cynical (and often we’d say more realistic attitude) ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ Of course if you didn’t read the headline you may […]

For some time now fans and pundits alike, have hoped that someday the UFC would put together a ‘super fight’ between current middleweight champ Anderson Silva and welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. In the past, UFC boss man Dana White hasn’t exactly gone out of his way to hype up the fight, arguing that St. Pierre is likely too small to compete at 185 , while Silva is probably too big for 170. Lately, however, White has acknowledged that the fans demand for such a P4P, all-star bout, may just be too hard to pass up (yeah no sh-t).

In a recent interview with MMA Weekly, Silva’s manager Ed Soares talked about the prospect of his fighter facing GSP; here is some of what he had to say:

“First of all, I think to protect both champions, I think it’s smarter to do it at a catchweight possibly, but who knows? Anderson… I don’t think he could. Maybe he could, I’m not sure, make it down to 170. I think it’s much easier and more likely that Georges goes up to 185.”… “Tell GSP to make weight, we’ll be waiting,” Soares said simply.

Yes, it’s completely okay to giggle with excited glee, however, first things first, namely two wrestling studs with the names Josh Koscheck and Chael Sonnen. After that…?

Lyoto Machida Would Welcome “Test” Against “Rampage” Jackson

Yesterday we passed along the word from MMA Junkie, who reported that “Rampage” Jackson has apparently verbally agreed to fight Lyoto Machida, November 20th. In addition to that report, which cited “sources close to the organization”, a recent ‘tweet’ from Rampage stating he’s ready to fight some dude whose name he can’t spell (another zinger […]

Yesterday we passed along the word from MMA Junkie, who reported that “Rampage” Jackson has apparently verbally agreed to fight Lyoto Machida, November 20^th. In addition to that report, which cited “sources close to the organization”, a recent ‘tweet’ from Rampage stating he’s ready to fight some dude whose name he can’t spell (another zinger from Jackson’s ‘am I illiterate?’ material), certainly seemed to jive with the story.

Well, here’s move evidence to toss onto the ‘looks like this is really happening’ pile; in a video interview posted on Sherdog today, which was apparently taken earlier this month, Machida talked about a variety of things including his recent KTFO loss to “Shogun” Rua and helping Anderson Silva prepare for Chael ‘Don’t Be Shy’ Sonnen. Machida conceded that although he would love to fight Rua for a third time, he understood that the UFC wasn’t likely to go in that direction for his next bout (also because Shogun is on the DL). When asked who would be his second choice- the former champion said this:

“I think Quinton Jackson would be the ideal guy for me; a guy who was champ and among the best. He is a great opponent; a very tough guy. I have a respect for him as does everyone else, but I’d like to test my technique against him.”…“I’m sure it would be a tough fight. He is a fighter who has been champion but I believe a lot in my work.”

Looks like the MMA gods are probably blessing us with another great tilt huh?