Phil Baroni

On April 4, 2019 Baroni took part in the second annual GCW Bloodsport professional wrestling event. He faced off and defeated Dominic Garrini, however his victory was later overturned to a loss by disqualification after he attacked the referee.

In the fall of 2018, Baroni returned to bare knuckle boxing. He faced Chris Leben at the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation debut card on November 9, 2018. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

On March 18, 2016 Baroni was announced to wrestle at Pro Wrestling Syndicate Super Card 2016 against former ECW superstar New Jack on June 11 at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey.

It was announced on March 13, 2014 that Baroni had signed a deal with Bellator MMA, and was expected to make his debut against Jesus Martinez on May 2, 2014. However, Baroni was forced out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by Ryan Contaldi.

Baroni faced Karo Parisyan in his debut fight at Bellator 122 on July 25, 2014. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round and was subsequently released from the promotion.

In 2014, Baroni began training to become a professional wrestler at D'Lo Brown Pro Wrestling Academy.

Baroni then rematched Matt Lindland to whom he had previously lost to by judges' decision. In their rematch, Baroni suffered a second loss to Lindland by another judges' decision. He was then matched up against a teammate of Matt Lindland, future UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner at UFC 45 – Revolution. Baroni dominated the beginning of the match against Tanner, but when the fight was stopped to check a cut on Tanner, Tanner regained his composure and the momentum turned, leading to the referee stopping the fight due to Baroni taking several undefended strikes on the ground. This decision was controversial as the referee Larry Landless had asked Baroni if he wanted to quit. Baroni said he believed he was asked if he wanted to continue, and said "yes". Landless stopped the bout, and was struck by a furious Baroni. Baroni was subsequently suspended for 4 months for striking the official. Upon his return Baroni got a rematch with Tanner at UFC 48 – Payback but went on to lose via decision.

Baroni returned from shoulder surgery against local favorite Chris Holland on June 2, 2012 at Ring of Fire 43: Bad Blood. Baroni dominated Holland in the first round, taking Holland down multiple times and landing heavy punches that opened a gash above Holland's left eyebrow. Baroni was visibly tired heading into the second round and was rocked by multiple hooks from Holland, Baroni ended up losing via TKO due to punches in the second round.

On August 31, 2012 Baroni faced Rodrigo Ribeiro at ONE FC: Pride of a Nation. Baroni stunned Ribeiro with the first punch he threw, Baroni chased a wobbly Ribeiro landing heavy punches as the Brazilian retreated; Baroni then knocked Ribeiro down with a punch combination and finished the fight due to soccer kicks and punches just sixty seconds into round one. Baroni became the first man to ever knock out Ribeiro, the 60-second victory marks Baroni's first knockout win in over four years.

Baroni represented ONE FC in a fighter-sharing program at Dream 18 on December 31, 2012 against Hayato Sakurai. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Baroni was scheduled to face John Salter on August 28, 2010 at UFC 118, however he was forced off the card with an injury.

In his second appearance in the promotion, he lost to Joe Riggs at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields on June 6, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri at Scottrade Center.

In late 2009 Baroni returned to once again fight in the UFC. He signed a multi-fight deal & his return fight was at UFC 106 on November 21, 2009 against TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah. Sadollah defeated Baroni by unanimous decision.

Since April 2009, Baroni has occasionally worked as an MMA commentator for the MMA Big Show fight organization, Tachi Palace Fights, and India's Super Fight League.

Baroni faced Hawaii's Kala Hose on March 15, 2008 for the vacant ICON Sport Middleweight title. Former champion Robbie Lawler was stripped of the title due to his inability to defend it on numerous occasions. While Baroni came out strong during the first round of the fight, his stamina began to fade and Hose started to dominate the fight. Hose ultimately defeated Baroni by TKO early in the fifth round to become the new ICON Sport Middleweight Champion.

Baroni made his Cage Rage and Welterweight debut at Cage Rage 27 on July 12, 2008, against British fighter Scott Jansen. He began the fight with a takedown, and came close to finishing the fight with an armbar with which he appeared to hyper-extend Jansen's arm. Following a standup call from the referee, the two fighters exchanged blows, Baroni throwing a right to the body, followed by a right-handed punch which to Jansen's chin. Jansen dropped, his head bouncing off the floor.

Frank Shamrock and Baroni had engaged in a war of words following Shamrock's fight with Renzo Gracie. The two faced off at Strikeforce Shamrock vs. Baroni, a co-promotion between EliteXC and Strikeforce on June 22, 2007 on Pay-Per-View. Shamrock defeated Baroni, knocking him down with punches in the first round and finishing him off with a rear naked choke in the second round. It was ruled a technical submission victory for Shamrock as Baroni was choked unconscious before he could tap. Baroni stated many times that he was not going to tap anyway.

Baroni joined Hammer House soon thereafter and rebounded in Japan's PRIDE Fighting Championships promotion with several knockout victories against Ikuhisa Minowa, Ryo Chonan, and Yuki Kondo. On June 4, 2006, Baroni was summarily defeated by Ikuhisa Minowa, whom he had developed a rivalry with, via unanimous decision in the Bushido Welterweight Grand Prix 183 lb (83 kg) tournament in 2005.

On October 21, 2006 Baroni captured a victory over boxer turned mixed martial artist Yosuke Nishijima via kimura in the first round at PRIDE 32, PRIDE's first American show. In the post-fight interview Baroni humorously admitted that he did not know the name of the hold he applied and only saw it on television a couple days before the fight.

Baroni debuted in the UFC in only his second professional fight, at UFC 30 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The bout was against fellow striking specialist Curtis Stout, and Baroni won by unanimous decision. Baroni was an undefeated 3-0 before getting his second fight with the UFC at UFC 34 against Matt Lindland, whom Baroni would develop a rivalry with later in their careers. Baroni lost the fight by decision, and was handed his first professional loss. However, Baroni would then quickly make a name for himself in the UFC with several impressive stoppage victories. His signature win was a decisive KO victory over former UFC Middleweight Champion Dave Menne on September 27, 2002. Baroni famously jumped on the top of the cage and proclaimed himself to be the "best eva" after the knockout of Menne.

Philip George Baroni (born April 16, 1976) is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and former kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2000, Baroni has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, Cage Rage, DREAM, EliteXC, Bellator MMA, and ONE FC.

After a decision loss to Sadollah, Phil Baroni spent 2 months in Phuket, Thailand learning Muay Thai at Tiger Muay Thai (TMT) with legendary coach Kru Yod. He practiced kicks, knees and elbows to improve his striking game. He also celebrated his 34th birthday in Phuket. The TMT crew posted videos of Baroni's workouts, showing how the training sessions improved Baroni's stand up technique, and work with nutritionist/strength & conditioning coach brought Baroni back to incredibly good shape in two months.