Tag: Phil Baroni

One FC 9: Tim Sylvia and Phil Baroni Should Call It a Career After Losses

Early this morning in the U.S. it was already night in Pasay City, Philippines—where two of the more colorful characters in MMA history were soundly defeated yet again.Deep in the depths of Metro Manila at The Mall of Asia Arena, both Phil Baroni…

Early this morning in the U.S. it was already night in Pasay City, Philippines—where two of the more colorful characters in MMA history were soundly defeated yet again.

Deep in the depths of Metro Manila at The Mall of Asia Arena, both Phil Baroni and Tim Sylvia suffered losses at One FC: Rise to Power.  This should be a sign that it’s finally time to call it a career.

Sylvia continues to move further away from having even the slightest chance at a UFC return.  The former champion missed weight by six pounds for his fight with Tony Johnson.  

After being out-wrestled during the first two rounds in the preliminary card matchup, Sylvia was the recipient of a huge elbow by Johnson, opening a cut on his forehead that halted the action.  The ring-side doctor determined the cut was too big for Sylvia to continue.  Johnson would be awarded the victory via TKO at 3:25 of Round 3.

Sylvia is now 37 and has lost back-to-back fights to what many experts would consider not the stiffest competition. He is a far cry from being relevant. His last fight in the U.S. was for a regional promotion in Maine.  

He is a former champion—there’s no doubt that he was one of the best in his day. He gave it a good run trying to become relevant again. That run, unfortunately, failed. He should stop now and get out before taking more unnecessary damage by fighting too long.

The writing has been on the wall for quite some time for Phil Baroni. He just refuses to accept that his body and skills—like all fighters past their prime—are failing him. The “New York Bad Ass” was anything but in his welterweight matchup vs. Nobutatsu Suzuki.  

He began the opening round with some success, but that quickly changed as Suzuki soon connected and backed Baroni up against the cage. Suzuki then connected with a knee and a follow-up right hand that sent the Long Island native down to the canvas. Baroni twisted his leg as he fell and suffered what appeared to be a broken or dislocated ankle. Once the referee saw he could no longer continue, the fight was stopped, giving Suzuki a KO victory at 4:15 of Round 1.

Baroni told the New York Post recently: “I gotta ride this bitch until the wheels fall off. I gotta keep going and hopefully catch my break.”

At 15-17 it’s quite apparent he won’t be catching one anytime soon. Baroni lost his last fight—and probably his last chance—in his second stint in the UFC, almost two years ago. The AKA fighter is one who doesn’t seem to know when enough is enough. While it is remarkable that he has managed to hang around the sport this long, with the record he has he is simply fighting for a paycheck now.

Sylvia and Baroni have held on for far too long. They both need to consider the risks moving forward and if it’s really worth it to continue.

Michael Stets is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

GIF of the Day: Phil Baroni’s Ankle Imploded at ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ This Morning [w/ FULL RESULTS]


(All gifs courtesy of Zombie Prophet.)

SPOILER ALERT: Despite being one of the only fighters to actually make weight yesterday, it’s safe to say that Phil Baroni’s bout with Nobutatsu Suzuki didn’t go quite as planned at ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ earlier today.

After getting backed into the cage by a series of knees around the four minute mark of the first round, Baroni was dropped by a Suzuki right hand that appeared to put him down for the count. A few follow up punches wrote this notion home and the referee was forced to step in. Unfortunately, said ref didn’t appear to notice that Baroni’s foot was trying to break free from the rest of his leg and provided little comfort for “The New York Bad Ass,” who now falls to 15-17 in his professional MMA career. At this point in his career, Baroni should consider challenging James “Why Me?” Irvin for the right to be called the most cursed man in MMA.

Of course, Baroni wasn’t the only former UFC star to suffer a tough loss this morning…


(All gifs courtesy of Zombie Prophet.)

SPOILER ALERT: Despite being one of the only fighters to actually make weight yesterday, it’s safe to say that Phil Baroni’s bout with Nobutatsu Suzuki didn’t go quite as planned at ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ earlier today.

After getting backed into the cage by a series of knees around the four minute mark of the first round, Baroni was dropped by a Suzuki right hand that appeared to put him down for the count. A few follow up punches wrote this notion home and the referee was forced to step in. Unfortunately, said ref didn’t appear to notice that Baroni’s foot was trying to break free from the rest of his leg and provided little comfort for “The New York Bad Ass,” who now falls to 15-17 in his professional MMA career. At this point in his career, Baroni should consider challenging James “Why Me?” Irvin for the right to be called the most cursed man in MMA.

Of course, Baroni wasn’t the only former UFC star to suffer a tough loss this morning…

Yes, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia suffered a(nother) setback in his quest to end his career in the UFC, and we’re not talking about the fact that he showed up to yesterday’s weigh-ins 7 pounds over the heavyweight limit. After being spared a loss against rival Andrei Arlovski in his last ONE FC appearance via a loosely-defined technicality, “The Maine-Iac” was outgunned by young prospect Tony Johnson earlier this morning.

Sylvia simply had no answers for the speed and wrestling prowess of Johnson, who worked Sylvia over for three rounds before opening a fight-ending cut above the eye of the former champ with a minute and a half left in the fight. No word yet on whether or not Sylvia will combat this latest setback by calling out one of those “overrated” UFC heavyweights we keep hearing him talk about.

Speaking of UFC veterans, Koji Oishi — best known as the guy who tried to block Nick Diaz’s punches with punches in a bizarre octagon appearance back at UFC 53 – successfully captured the ONE FC featherweight title in this morning’s main event with a second round knockout of Honorio Banario. It was Oishi’s first win under the ONE FC banner, and improved his overall record to 23-9-10.

A full list of results from ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ is below.

Main Card:
-Koji Oishi def. Honorio Banario by KO (punches) at 1:45 of Round Two
-Bibiano Fernandes def. Koetsu Okazaki by unanimous decision
-Masakatsu Ueda def. Kevin Belingon by unanimous decision
-Yasuhiro Urushitani def. Rey Docyogen by split decision
-Nobutatsu Suzuki def. Phil Baroni by TKO (strikes/injury) at 4:17 of Round One
-Kamal Shalorus def. Eduard Folayang by unanimous decision
-Andrew Leone def. Geje Estaquio by unanimous decision

Under Card:
-Lowen Tynanes def. Felipe Enomoto by TKO (elbows) at 2:41 of Round One
-Yusup Saadulaev def. Ryan Diaz by submission (D’arce choke) at 2:57 of Round Two
-Tony Johnson def. Tim Sylvia by TKO (cut) at 3:25 of Round Three

–J. Jones

Pretty Much Everyone Came in Heavy at the ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ Weigh-Ins Today, Including Fatty Boom-Boom


(No, Tim, we do not know where they keep the rest of the honey. Photo via Sherdog.)

You guys, this might come as a Scanners.gif to you, but Tim Sylvia — best known around these parts as Fatty Boom-Boom — failed to make weight for his scheduled contest with Tony Johnson at ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ tomorrow. Tipping the scales at a hefty-yet-slimmed down 271 pounds (perhaps The Maine-Iac 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge works after all!), Sylvia missed the heavyweight limit by 6 pounds earlier today. While some of you may accuse of us going after the low hanging fruit here, let us not forget that this is the same Tim Sylvia who just weeks ago was informing us of his desires to finish his career in the UFC. This is not a great start.

To be fair, Sylvia wasn’t the most egregious offender at today’s weigh-ins, not by a long shot. That dishonor would be bestowed upon Ryan “The Lion” Diaz, the 13-13 Strikeforce and KOTC veteran who had not competed in nearly three years before agreeing to face Yusup Saadulaev in a bantamweight contest. Weighing in at 144.8 pounds, Diaz surpassed the limit by nearly ten pounds. Somewhere, Anthony Johnson is eating his second straight double fudge ice cream sundae and smiling for completely unrelated reasons.

Sylvia and Diaz, along with Andrew Leone and Lowen Tynanes, will all face penalties for missing weight in the form of purse deductions, although just how much they will lose has yet to be disclosed by ONE FC officials. Thankfully, the scheduled title fights in Honorio Banario vs. Koji Oishi (featherweight) and Bibiano Fernandes vs. Koetsu Okazaki (bantamweight) will actually make it to fruition, as all four fighters successfully made weight.

The entire ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ fight card can be purchased for just $9.99 through ONE FC’s official website. Featuring the likes of Phil Baroni, Kamal Shalorus, Masakatsu Ueda, and Eduard Folayang, the card is set to kick off tomorrow morning starting at 6:30 a.m. EST.

The full weigh-in results and a video preview of ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ are after the jump. 


(No, Tim, we do not know where they keep the rest of the honey. Photo via Sherdog.)

You guys, this might come as a Scanners.gif to you, but Tim Sylvia — best known around these parts as Fatty Boom-Boom — failed to make weight for his scheduled contest with Tony Johnson at ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ tomorrow. Tipping the scales at a hefty-yet-slimmed down 271 pounds (perhaps The Maine-Iac 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge works after all!), Sylvia missed the heavyweight limit by 6 pounds earlier today. While some of you may accuse of us going after the low hanging fruit here, let us not forget that this is the same Tim Sylvia who just weeks ago was informing us of his desires to finish his career in the UFC. This is not a great start.

To be fair, Sylvia wasn’t the most egregious offender at today’s weigh-ins, not by a long shot. That dishonor would be bestowed upon Ryan “The Lion” Diaz, the 13-13 Strikeforce and KOTC veteran who had not competed in nearly three years before agreeing to face Yusup Saadulaev in a bantamweight contest. Weighing in at 144.8 pounds, Diaz surpassed the limit by nearly ten pounds. Somewhere, Anthony Johnson is eating his second straight double fudge ice cream sundae and smiling for completely unrelated reasons.

Sylvia and Diaz, along with Andrew Leone and Lowen Tynanes, will all face penalties for missing weight in the form of purse deductions, although just how much they will lose has yet to be disclosed by ONE FC officials. Thankfully, the scheduled title fights in Honorio Banario vs. Koji Oishi (featherweight) and Bibiano Fernandes vs. Koetsu Okazaki (bantamweight) will actually make it to fruition, as all four fighters successfully made weight.

The entire ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ fight card can be purchased for just $9.99 through ONE FC’s official website. Featuring the likes of Phil Baroni, Kamal Shalorus, Masakatsu Ueda, and Eduard Folayang, the card is set to kick off tomorrow morning starting at 6:30 a.m. EST.

The full weigh-in results and a video preview of ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ are below.

-Honorio Banario (144.7) vs. Koji Oishi (144.8) – for featherweight title
-Bibiano Fernandes (134.4) vs. Koetsu Okazaki (134.4) – for interim bantamweight title
-Kevin Belingon (134) vs. Masakatsu Ueda (134.6) – bantamweight grand-prix final
-Rey Docyogen (124.7) vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani (124.7)
-Phil Baroni (169) vs. Nobutatsu Suzuki (169.4)
-Eduard Folayang (154.4) vs. Kamal Shalorus (154.2)
-Geje Eustaquio (124.7) vs. Andrew Leone (127.7)
-Ryan Diaz (144.8) vs. Yusup Saadulaev (134.4)
-Felipe Enomoto (153.1) vs. Lowen Tynanes (155.2)
-Tony Johnson (264.2) vs. Tim Sylvia (271)

ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ Preview

–J. Jones

With MMA Opposition Weakening in New York, UFC Hopes for 20th Anniversary Event at Madison Square Garden

(In honor of Reilly’s impending retirement, we proudly present the most embarrassing moment of his entire political career. You crazy for that one, Bob.)

By Elias Cepeda

Alright, we don’t want to get your hopes up but…

According to a New York State Assembly “insider” quoted in a new report by NY Daily News reporter Kenneth Lovett, “It’s getting harder for [Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver] to keep blocking this,” referring to the bill partially crafted by the UFC to sanction MMA in New York.

“Resistance to it is getting less,” Speaker Silver admitted.

Lovett went on to explain in his report that Assemblyman Robert Reilly — better known around here as “Bob,” and one of New York’s most passionate, confused, and dishonest opponents of MMA sanctioning — is miraculously retiring this week (!!!) and that his departure should take a good deal of steam out of the opposition to MMA in New York. The ban on professional MMA in the state was signed into law by then-Governor George Pataki in 1997, but now even he is calling for the sport’s legalization.

Sources tell The Daily News that if the bill to legalize and regulate professional MMA in New York were brought to a vote in the general assembly right now, it would be passed. However, hurdles remain for the sport and its largest promotion, the UFC. Members of the NY Assembly including Deborah Glick and Daniel O’Donnell still oppose MMA’s legalization, the report says, and they might be able to prevent the measure from getting through committee and to the general assembly for voting.

In addition, the Culinary Workers Union — MMA’s most powerful arch-nemesis in the fight for New York MMA regulation — continues its loud propaganda campaign against the UFC, slamming everything from Dana White’s language to Mandy Moore’s judgment. (Funny story: If you go to the Culinary Union’s anti-UFC website UnfitforChildren.org right now, the lead story is a screen-cap of a CagePotato article. Wisely, they didn’t reprint the article’s first line, which refers to the Union as “two-faced, propaganda pushing arseholes.”)

Nevertheless, UFC President Dana White seems to be as optimistic as ever that his organization will soon put on an event in New York. After UFC 155, the promoter told assembled media that he hoped to host a UFC 20th Anniversary event in Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden this coming fall. “We have a date, and we have a match,” White revealed.


(In honor of Reilly’s impending retirement, we proudly present the most embarrassing moment of his entire political career. You crazy for that one, Bob.)

By Elias Cepeda

Alright, we don’t want to get your hopes up but…

According to a New York State Assembly “insider” quoted in a new report by NY Daily News reporter Kenneth Lovett, “It’s getting harder for [Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver] to keep blocking this,” referring to the bill partially crafted by the UFC to sanction MMA in New York.

“Resistance to it is getting less,” Speaker Silver admitted.

Lovett went on to explain in his report that Assemblyman Robert Reilly — better known around here as “Bob,” and one of New York’s most passionate, confused, and dishonest opponents of MMA sanctioning — is miraculously retiring this week (!!!) and that his departure should take a good deal of steam out of the opposition to MMA in New York. The ban on professional MMA in the state was signed into law by then-Governor George Pataki in 1997, but now even he is calling for the sport’s legalization.

Sources tell The Daily News that if the bill to legalize and regulate professional MMA in New York were brought to a vote in the general assembly right now, it would be passed. However, hurdles remain for the sport and its largest promotion, the UFC. Members of the NY Assembly including Deborah Glick and Daniel O’Donnell still oppose MMA’s legalization, the report says, and they might be able to prevent the measure from getting through committee and to the general assembly for voting.

In addition, the Culinary Workers Union — MMA’s most powerful arch-nemesis in the fight for New York MMA regulation — continues its loud propaganda campaign against the UFC, slamming everything from Dana White’s language to Mandy Moore’s judgment. (Funny story: If you go to the Culinary Union’s anti-UFC website UnfitforChildren.org right now, the lead story is a screen-cap of a CagePotato article. Wisely, they didn’t reprint the article’s first line, which refers to the Union as “two-faced, propaganda pushing arseholes.”)

Nevertheless, UFC President Dana White seems to be as optimistic as ever that his organization will soon put on an event in New York. After UFC 155, the promoter told assembled media that he hoped to host a UFC 20th Anniversary event in Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden this coming fall. “We have a date, and we have a match,” White revealed.

We’ve long dreamed of a super event in New York City and Madison Square Garden, if mostly for the symbolic significance. MMA is legal in just about every significant American locale except for New York, which is losing untold millions in potential revenue by not allowing the UFC to hold events there.

In honor of this latest glimmer of hope, we now present highlight videos from some of the most awesome MMA fighters that New York has produced: Current light heavyweight champion and pound for pound contender Jon Jones, former welterweight champion Matt Serra, and “Bad Ass” Emeritus Phil Baroni.

Matt Serra Highlights:

Jon Jones Highlights:

Phil Baroni Highlights:

‘DREAM 18? Full Fight Videos: Manhoef vs. Kang, Aoki vs. McKee, Baroni vs. Sakurai + More

(Melvin Manhoef def. Denis Kang via knee-to-the-body KO, 0:50 of round 1. Fight starts at the 3:44 mark, but we’ve got the video cued up to the *real* action.)

From Mirko Cro Cop arm-barring a professional wrestler, to Bob Sapp scoring a massive upset over Alistair Overeem (in arm-wrestling), New Year’s weekend in Japan was loaded with, shall we say, “sports entertainment.” But there was at least one legit event — the hybrid DREAM 18/Glory 4 MMA-kickboxing spectacular that went down December 31st at the Saitama Super Arena. Thanks to Suhwaniya Fight Club, we’ve got complete videos of all eight MMA fights that took place that night, which featured such stars as Shinya Aoki, Melvin Manhoef, Marloes Coenen, Phil Baroni, Michihiro Omigawa, and Bibiano Fernandes. Enjoy, and welcome to 2013 everybody.

(Shinya Aoki def. Antonio McKee via submission due to eye-punch, 0:24 of round 2)


(Melvin Manhoef def. Denis Kang via knee-to-the-body KO, 0:50 of round 1. Fight starts at the 3:44 mark, but we’ve got the video cued up to the *real* action.)

From Mirko Cro Cop arm-barring a professional wrestler, to Bob Sapp scoring a massive upset over Alistair Overeem (in arm-wrestling), New Year’s weekend in Japan was loaded with, shall we say, “sports entertainment.” But there was at least one legit event — the hybrid DREAM 18/Glory 4 MMA-kickboxing spectacular that went down December 31st at the Saitama Super Arena. Thanks to Suhwaniya Fight Club, we’ve got complete videos of all eight MMA fights that took place that night, which featured such stars as Shinya Aoki, Melvin Manhoef, Marloes Coenen, Phil Baroni, Michihiro Omigawa, and Bibiano Fernandes. Enjoy, and welcome to 2013 everybody.


(Shinya Aoki def. Antonio McKee via submission due to eye-punch, 0:24 of round 2)


(Bibiano Fernandes def. Yoshiro Maeda via technical submission due to triangle choke, 1:46 of round 1)


(Hayato Sakurai def. Phil Baroni via unanimous decision)


(Marloes Coenen def. Fiona Muxlow via submission due to armbar, 2:29 of round 1)


(Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision)


(Will Brooks def. Satoru Kitaoka via TKO, 3:46 of round 2)


(Georgi Karakhanyan def. Hiroyuki Takaya via split decision)

CagePotato Presents: A Mostly Video Tribute to the Standing TKO


(James Thompson, seen here demonstrating the CagePotato “What in the bloody hell are you on about, mate?” rule of early stoppages.) 

Over the past few days, we’ve witnessed a pair of rarely seen finishes in the octagon — a suplex KO and a flying reverse triangle — and after we here at CagePotato collectively picked our jaws up off the floor and found a clean pair of shorts, we got to thinking, what other techniques/finishes do we rarely come across in the MMA stratosphere? And more importantly, which of these techniques/finishes have we not devoted some sort of gif or video tribute to already?

Taking all of those factors into account, we came to the standing TKO, a finish so uncommon in MMA that we could only name a handful of occurrences before having to resort to the Interwebs for assistance. So in honor of the iron-jawed sumbitches who wouldn’t bow to defeat even when it was kneeing/punching/kicking them damn near to death, we’ve placed our favorite examples of this phenomenon below. Check ’em out after the jump and let us know which stoppages you thought were warranted and which ones could have gone on a little longer.


(James Thompson, seen here demonstrating the CagePotato “What in the bloody hell are you on about, mate?” rule of early stoppages.) 

Over the past few days, we’ve witnessed a pair of rarely seen finishes in the octagon — a suplex KO and a flying reverse triangle — and after we here at CagePotato collectively picked our jaws up off the floor and found a clean pair of shorts, we got to thinking, what other techniques/finishes do we rarely come across in the MMA stratosphere? And more importantly, which of these techniques/finishes have we not devoted some sort of gif or video tribute to already?

Taking all of those factors into account, we came to the standing TKO, a finish so uncommon in MMA that we could only name a handful of occurrences before having to resort to the Interwebs for assistance. So in honor of the iron-jawed sumbitches who wouldn’t bow to defeat even when it was kneeing/punching/kicking them damn near to death, we’ve placed our favorite examples of this phenomenon below. Check ‘em out after the jump and let us know which stoppages you thought were warranted and which ones could have gone on a little longer.

The Justified Stoppages

Hermes Franca vs. Spencer Fisher – UFC Fight Night 8

Matt Brown vs. Luis Ramos – UFC on FX 4

Paul Daley vs. Martin Kampmann – UFC 103

For some reason, the embeddable is being a dingus, so check out the full fight here.

Jason Day vs. Alan Belcher – UFC 83