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By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Contributor The New York Bad Ass is back in business as he made short work of Scott Jansen in his Cage Rage debut and first fight at Welterweight. Phil Baroni is no stranger to drama and highlight reel knockouts and this fight delivered on both accounts.
On July 12th at the Wembley Arena in London, Cage Rage 27 featured Baroni vs Jansen as its main event. This would be Baroni’s first fight since his defeat at the hands of Joey Villasenor on the Elite XC CBS broadcast from May and he was determined to bounce back in spectacular fashion and assert himself as a potential force at the new weight.
He definitely succeeded on both counts and showed that he has retained his punching power at the lighter weight and actually looked like this is the proper weight at which he should be fighting.
Phil opened up the fight with a takedown and actually was very close to ending this fight by almost forcing Jansen to submit to an armbar. The referee made the decision to stand the fighters up but it was not one that would provide Jansen with a break by any stretch of the imagination. After the fighters were on their feet, Baroni began a blistering two fisted assault which began with a thundering right to the body and then unleashed a bomb to Jansen’s chin which disconnected him from all of his senses instantaneously. The force of this finishing blow caused Jansen to crumple and his head to bounce scarily off of the mat. At the 3:20 second mark of the first round it was clear that Phil Baroni had passed his first test at Welterweight and fired the opening salvo in the resurrection of his career.
What should have been a genuine display of sportsmanship from Baroni; turned into an ugly incident which thankfully did not escalate any further. After the brutal knockout, Jansen appeared to be hurt pretty badly and Baroni walked over to check the condition of his fallen foe when he was head butted by a brother of Jansen’s who was in the cage along with the fighter’s corner men.
The New York Bad Ass is never one to shy away from a fight, but he knows there is a time and a place for one and after the bell is not the time. Phil Baroni showed restraint and simply walked away from the incident without causing it to go any further.
After this tremendous debut at his new weight and given the incident that occurred post fight, I had the chance to talk with Phil Baroni and get his take on the head butt as well as find out how he feels at 170 and to find out just what is next for him.
Jason Bent: Congratulations on the victory and the highlight reel knockout; can I get your take on the head butt incident?
Phil Baroni: The head butt thing was just stupid. I’m happy I didn’t get cut. Whatever shit happens, no big deal to me. I’ve done some dumb shit in my life and people make mistakes, I made a million, water under the bridge.
JB: What is in the immediate future for you? When will we see you back in the cage?
PB: I just want to fight often and keep winning. I’m fighting Aug 2 in Icon. I’m 1-0 at 170 and want to keep fighting and build my record and be a contender.
JB: Can we expect to see you once again on an Elite XC primetime CBS broadcast?
PB: Of course. I want to fight on CBS, I want to fix what happened last time, I’m better than that and don’t want to go out like that. I want to fight the big fights I’ve always had my whole career.
JB: How do you feel at the new weight? How do you feel in regards to your punching power, hand speed and conditioning?
PB: I feel better. I feel stronger, quicker and lighter. I’m better conditioned and athletic at this weight.
JB: Who is next for you? Is there any opponent in particular that you would like to face next?
PB: I’ll fight anyone. I want to keep winning and move up the ladder. I won one fight and I don’t want to get ahead of myself and call people out etc. I’ll let my manager Ken Pavia handle that with Doug Deluca and Elite XC.
JB: Thank you for your time and best of luck in the future. Congratulations on your debut and I certainly look forward to seeing you in the cage very soon.
PB: Thank you.
Icon Sports next event on August 2, 2008 is titled “Hard Times” and as of this writing, Phil Baroni is set to square off against Ron Verdadero (3-5) at a catch weight of 175 lbs. This will be Baroni’s 4th fight of 2008 and second in a month so he is definitely making sure to keep busy as he begins his climb up the Welterweight ladder in order to potentially challenge for a title.
Phil Baroni is one of the most exciting fighters and any time he steps inside the cage, there is potential for the fight to end by way of devastating knockout. It appears to me as if he has found a home at 170 lbs and the world may see a new, improved and much more dangerous New York Bad Ass. At any rate, you’re going to want to watch because this guy brings fireworks, excitement and the desire to put on the best fight he possibly can for the fans and give his best effort on that given evening. In his own words he is a “Rock Star” and he is certainly hard at work on his comeback album and hoping it will go gold, as in championship gold.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
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