Long Island Legends Phil Baroni and Matt Serra Need to Fight in the UFC
by Kid Nate on Aug 17, 2009 7:11 PM EDT
in MMA News
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MMA Weekly talks to former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra about the kinds of fights he's looking for:
"I had a talk with Joe Silva (UFC matchmaker) and we talked about some interesting things," Serra told MMAWeekly.com recently. "I was definitely first pushing for a rematch. That would be ideal for me. I'd love to fight Matt Hughes again. I told him, 'look man, you've already got the name for it, "Unfinished Business." There you go.'
...
"I've made my whole career fighting whoever they put in front of me, and that hasn't really changed, but it has to be kind of exciting now. You know what I mean? I've got to see my name up there with someone else where I'm like, ‘Whew. I'd want to see that as a fight fan myself. I like that match up, and I like that name. He's a legend.' I want that type of thing around it. That's what I want," continued the New York resident."A new guy is just as tough as some of these other guys, so it's like why not at this stage of my career fight guys that, your name is up there, like when they had me versus Hughes. That was exciting. That's what I'm looking for. I know Frank Trigg is back in the mix. That would be interesting."
Unfortunately, Frank Trigg already has a dance partner for his UFC 103 return -- Josh Koscheck. Fortunately for Serra and the fans there is someone almost as well known as Frank Trigg that would be the perfect opponent for Serra: the New York Bad Ass Phil Baroni.
Ariel Helwani interviews New York Badass Phil Baroni:
Were you surprised the UFC had interest in you despite the fact that you lost your last fight?
No. I'm Phil Baroni, and I'm a real fighter. Dana [White] wants real fighters in the UFC.How long did it take for this deal to get done?
Fast. I agreed to the terms and money without hesitation. [Baroni's agent] Ken Pavia e-mailed me the deal; I signed it, and had my wife fax it while I went for a quick six-mile run....
Is there one fighter in particular that you would like to fight first?
I'll fight anybody. I've always been that way. I'm not changing that now.
I've been wanting to see these two go at it for years now. Both are from Long Island and made their UFC debuts in 2001 amidt as much hype as the promotion could generate at the time. Both faced the top competition in their respective divisions and came up short (except for Serra's win over GSP).
But I never thought it would happen given their different weight-classes (middle for Baroni, light for Serra) and divergent career trajectories. Just as Serra was winning the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter, Baroni was a post-PRIDE gypsy dropping his record to .500 and testing positive for steroids.
But through various miracles, they're both welterweights now and both are in the UFC. Its time for the two biggest mouths in MMA to get it on.
Down the road I'd love to see either face Frank Trigg and I'm more interested in a Phil Baroni vs Matt Hughes bout than a rematch of Hughes and Serra. The UFC welterweight division has quite a senior circuit. As much as I don't see any of these guys contending for a title anytime soon, I love to watch them all fight and I hope that Joe Silva makes wise use of them all.
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I’d love to see these two fight in a “loser shuts up” match. Their would be a 15 minute lead in with all the soundbites between the two.
http://www.mmavalor.com
"My Take" on the world of Mixed Martial Arts.
Jeezus! Are ya' kiddin' me?
You could mine a solid hour of soundbites from these two! Both act like turtles in a shell when they land on their back but think they’re the stuff of Jackrabbits!
Heck, I’d rather listen to these two jaw back n’ forth instead of watching a Stallone movie.
Poll: Do You Want To See Baroni vs Serra In The UFC?
Vote:
-Yes
-No
-I want what Kid Nate wants
:P
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Aug 17, 2009 6:30 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
maybe if it’s “No, I’m Phil Baroni.”
by phantasma475 on Aug 17, 2009 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Seriously
What is stopping a young fighter from using steroids to bulk up while training hard for a few years while fighting in little smokers around the country before going “clean”, maintaining the bulk through hard training and then entering a major MMA promotion with a big strength advantage?
"Stop smiling you are about to be punched in the face !"
The same thing that’s stopping high school kids from doing that in every other sport. nothing.
Some high schools are doing some testing, but it’s too expensive. Most mma fighters are going to be athletes coming from somewhere else, so they should be tested there.
Athletes being fed into other sports are far more visible as they pass through varsity high school programs and are scouting by colleges than mma prospects. Very rarely do top level professional athletes join teams without having spent time in a college program. MMA is different.
"Stop smiling you are about to be punched in the face !"
Hormone levels
Apparently your body cannot support the muscle without the enhanced hormone levels in your body to support the growth and metabolic maintenance. It drops your entire metabolism and things slow and then fade. I think that’s a part of why users cycle; Controlling tolerance, side effects, and hormonal equilibrium are others though.
This is correct from what I hear
Once you are off the juice, you don’t really benefit from being on it that much after a period of time. Alot of the strength gains you made may stick around due to the mental strength given to you knowing that you have lifted such heavy weights before rather than from artificial means. The opposite can also happen where people can feel weaker when they no longer have the extra testosterone, so it is not without risk.
asa is spot on about the extra bulk though to a certain point. You fall back to around what your natural maximum bulk would be through hard training. Basically steroids will accelerate you to what you could achieve naturally over a longer period of time.
Please note this info is second hand, from body building friends who use steroids, and I am happy for someone with more knowledge to share if any of this is wrong!
'He built his whole reputation as a waffle house chef. They’ve been serving him up ham and eggs with a side of canned tomatoes' - Don Frye on Fedor Emelianenko
by Well Read Idiot on Aug 18, 2009 6:54 AM EDT up reply actions
I agreed to the terms and money without hesitation. [Baroni’s agent] Ken Pavia e-mailed me the deal; I signed it, and had my wife fax it while I went for a quick six-mile run.
He failed to mention that he gassed before he got out of the driveway.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Aug 17, 2009 6:59 PM EDT reply actions 4 recs
that whole training camp doesn’t gas, they play possum.
by crinow on Aug 17, 2009 8:24 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Why is Phil Baroni in the UFC?
2-5 UFC Record. Lost to Mr. Braces and Mr. Hotbox. C’mon. He’s 13-11 and his best win is over Chonan.
Phil Baroni > Ryo Chonan > Anderson Silva , Baroni>Silva !!! MMath at its finest
UFC 109: Shut the Fuck up and fight already!
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Aug 17, 2009 8:13 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I would love to see Matt Brown vs. Phil Baroni. I think that fight would be a great fight to watch. As far as prefight hype, the Hardy vs. Baroni fight would probably be the greatest trash talking ever
www.mmagospel.com
www.blogtalkradio.com/MMAGospel
I see nyba gassing in the second and subbing to an RNC
A wise man told me don't argue with fools
Cause people from a distance can't tell who is who
by thetakeover on Aug 17, 2009 9:43 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
It’s so rare that someone can have an arrogance and swagger about them that is so unfounded yet it still be entertaining and not annoying!
NYBA! Too bad if they don’t give him jobbers he’ll never win in the UFC.
What most people fail to realize....
is that there is already heat for this fight already as the two don’t like one another. I remember talking with Nick Serra at length in 2002 about how they thought this guy was a complete douche.
Additionally, they grew up about 10 minutes from one another on Long Island. Baroni’s from Massapequa and Serra’s from East Meadow (I think), which are both about 10 mins from each other on the 135.
by HonorableJudgeIto on Aug 18, 2009 12:07 AM EDT reply actions
Serra v. Baroni
Long Island Legends Phil Baroni and Matt Serra Need to Fight in the UFC
Oh my goodness YES!
Frankly, I’m embarassed I didn’t think about it until you mentioned it. I even thought of a rematch between Baroni and Pete Sell despite the fact that Sell is no longer employed by the UFC.
Serra v. Baroni would be a great match up. I’ll be really disappointed if it doesn’t happen.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
It would be a great match to turn up the heat in NY for removing the ban.
Hold it someplace close enough to get New Yorkers pissed that its now in the city, like Boston ;-)
i like Baroni, i always have….but he looked god awful against Riggs….like he gassed the second the first bell rang. seriously.
Gatti. Dekkers. Pele. Aoki. Kang. Vanderlei.
http://theworldsoldestsport.blogspot.com/
by theworldsoldestsport on Aug 18, 2009 10:53 AM EDT reply actions
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