MMAJunkie claims to have the inside scoop that TUF product Amir Sadollah will be the first selected opponent for the return of "The New York Bad Ass", Phil Baroni, at UFC 106 on November 26th in Vegas.
This is an interesting choice for the brash-mouthed slugger, who was released from the UFC after some incredible highlight reel knockouts were faded by a string of four consecutive losses. Baroni entered the UFC for his second professional MMA fight and defeated Curtis Stout before tangling with one of the top MW's at the time in Matt Lindland, where Lindland applied his Olympic caliber wrestling for the decision victory. Baroni's status exploded in his next two fights, when he used the heads belonging to highly established fighters Amar Suloev and Dave Menne as a speed bag, rocking each with jackhammer combinations that landed in frighteningly immediate succession, which drew about the respectable comparison of his punching agility and power to be "Vitor-esque" from fans.
Feeling on top of the world and "the best eva", gravity took shape in the form of a rematch-loss with Lindland, back-to-back losses to the late Evan Tanner, and a surprise guillotine from the unknown Pete Sell for his first career submission defeat. This resulted in an amicable UFC split.
Showing his willingness to evolve his wrestling base, he rebounded from his first submission loss with his first win via submission against Chris Cruit in Extreme Fighting Challenge, and enjoyed ajother two-fight career launchpad by viciously KO'ing Ikuhisa Minowa and Ryo Chonan in the esteemed Pride FC organization, and doing the same to Yuki Kondo after losing a decision rematch to Minowa. Baroni went on to experience smattered success and defeat in ICON, Strikeforce, and Cage Rage, dropping to 170 pounds for his last 4 fights, in which he is 3-1 with Joe Riggs accounting for the "1".
Given his less than stellar recent performances on rosters inferior to the UFC, and the UFC's constantly stated commitment to bring in the world's best fighters, many were surprised at Baroni's return. However, I have no complaints, as the "New York Bad Ass" usually provides enjoyable performances and can change the pace at any time with the power of his hands. And, let's be honest- the man can sell a fight along with the best of them.
Amir Sadollah will look to reinvigorate his reputation after Johnny Hendricks knocked his status down a few notches with a flurry of thunderous punches at UFC 101. For as much hype and promotion as we've seen about this exciting Muay-Thai fighter, he is in fact a young and inexperienced competitor with a 1-1 record. Although Baroni may wear a journeyman's barcode with a 13-11 history, he's fought a wealth of talent throughout his career, and his strong wrestling and knockout power are nothing to be overlooked, so Sadollah will have his hands more than full with his third official opponent.
