Exclusive Interview with The NY Badass Phil Baroni

Phil Baroni has had the quintessential up and down career in Mixed Martial Arts. Baroni broke into MMA in 2000 and quickly found himself in the UFC, where he busted onto the scene with the brutal highlight reel knockout of former UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne at UFC 39. Baroni was now 5-1 and would go onto to fight four move times in the UFC, losing them all which inevitably got him released.  

Baroni moved on from the release and would fight all over the world for the next four years, where he’d fight for two different championship belts and become a huge fan favorite. Now with a record of 15-13 Baroni had earned himself another shot in the UFC in 2009 against Amir Sadollah at UFC 106. He went on to lose a unanimous decision but was given another fight with the promotion 13 months later, losing to brad Tavares once again being released from the UFC.

Baroni is far from done and believes the best is yet to come; he will be making his Titan Fighting Championship debut later this month at TFC 17 on March 25^th. In are exclusive interview with “The New York Bad Ass” he talks about the UFC, his upcoming fight with TFC and a glimpse of the good side of a true bad ass few of his fans know.

What do you think went wrong with your last stint with the UFC?

It was probably the getting kicked in the head. Yeah I think that’s what went wrong. That and being too tough for my own good, I should have went into Frankie Edgar survival mode and got out of the round. Instead I called him in to hit me with harder shots. I should have got on my bike

You had said in an interview after your last fight that you expected to be cut, who broke the news to you and what did they say?

 Joe Silva called me and gave me the news. Joe has been a personal friend of mine for years and told me to get some wins and he will bring me back. It was cool of him to call and break it to me that way, a lot better than getting a pink slip in the mail.

Why do you think you are a fan favorite (besides your looks, LOL)?

 Ha Ha, I think my good looks have a lot to do with it.  But really I think it’s over the years the fans came to appreciate the fact that I come to fight. I come to win no matter the opponent and I’m willing to sacrifice my body in the process. I think the fans acknowledge that I’m willing to take punishment and I never give up, also the fact that I fight to win by KO. I’m out there trying from the first bell to finish my opponent. My style is exciting and I’m willing to take one to give one.  I’m also an entertainer I don’t think I have to describe what I mean by that. 

But over the years the fans have warmed up to me and that’s great. I love the fans and it’s the reason I compete, to entertain them and hear the applause. I’ve been humbled over time; 10 years of fighting the toughest guys will do that to you. I’ve been up and down throughout my career and the fans can relate to me. Everyone has ups and downs in their life and just like most things have not come or been easy for me. It’s not an easy road I’m on, and like most of the fans I’m living day by day pay check by pay check. I just think I’m easy to relate to and I’m a down to earth regular guy.

I fight to the best of my ability and give it my all 100% the fans respect that.

Signing with Titan Fighting Championships happened quickly after your release, how did that come about so fast?

I hired Monte Cox to manage me and give me and my career some guidance. He has brought a number of fighters to the promise land like Jens, Silvia, Franklin, Hughes and Alverez. I feel if I had him all along that I for one would have a much better record and who knows maybe even a belt or two. So I got him now better late than never. I feel STRONG and I’m improving a lot. The best is yet to come.

You are scheduled to fight Nick Nolte (the MMA fighter) on March 25, what do you have in store for him?

A severe Ass Kicking. I’m going to bust him up and show everyone I’m still a contender and somebody you don’t want to fight.

Exciting, charismatic and entertaining are just a few of the words that describes MMA veteran Phil “The New York Bad Ass” Baroni. One word that might not come to mind when fight fans think of or describe the long island native Baroni would be humanitarian.

Besides fighting you’re also doing some humanitarian work for Anti-Human Trafficking. What made you get into that?

I came across human trafficking and saw how big it is and how horrible it was. The guys from Coalition showed me how I can get involved and help prevent it.  It’s just terrible and I don’t think most people even know it exist. I wasn’t aware of it, and now that I am I feel it’s my duty to join the fight against it.

 Human Trafficking is often overlooked, would you explain why we need an Anti-Human trafficking humanitarian effort?

It’s got to stop plain and simple. Young innocent lives are being ruined and exploited.  People are being treated worse than cattle, being taken and exploited, their lives ruined so other can profit off their suffering and basically slavery.  Imagine if it happened to you or somebody you cared about. It’s a horrible thing to have happening here in the United States most people are not aware.

Thank you for your time Phil, is there any thanks you’d like to hand out?

I just want to thank the fans for their support over the years. I have the best fans and they keep me going when things seem at their worst. I’m fighting March 25 on HDNet check me out. I feel great, I’m putting in a hard training camp at AKA where I’m away from home my wife and dog. I have been working really hard so check me out.

Also I’ll be on inside MMA in the near future leading up to the fight on HDNet with Bas Rutten. Follow me on twitter @PhilBaroni and join my fan page on face book. Also on face book friend request Angela Baroni at Chateau for all her work, it would be doing the old NYBA a favor.

Thanks guys again I still have a lot of busta’s out there to smash!

Fans can watch Baroni take on Nick Nolte (not the actor) at TFC 17 on HDNet, also on the card is Heavyweights Bobby Lashley and Abe Wagner in spate bouts.

Tags: Anti-Human Trafficking, Interview, MMA, Phil Baroni, Titan fighting Championship, UFC

Category: Exclusive, Featured, Interview, MMA, Titan Fighting Championship