MMARated.com: “I Will Eat Ninja Sushi For Dinner”

April 11, 2008

I was going to write some nice little intro on how Phil Baroni is gearing up for his fight against Murilo “Ninja” Rua on CBS but I think it would be wise to just get into our interview. Let me just quickly say that I have never conducted an interview quite like this one…and that’s a good thing. And away we go:

Ariel Helwani: How did it feel to get back in the ring after a long layoff?
Phil Baroni: I felt like shit after about four minutes. I was out of shape (and) I didn’t train for seven months. (It’s) nobody’s fault but my own. Oh well, I made a mistake. Fuck it, I’ll take it out on Ninja. Poor Ninja.

Ariel Helwani: Were you happy with your performance against Hose?
Phil Baroni: What the fuck do you think? Was I happy with my performance against Hose? What are you retarded?

Ariel Helwani: There has been talk of a rematch in the works…does that interest you?
Phil Baroni: Fuck yeah it does. I’ll fight anybody anytime, especially that guy. No hard feelings, Kala (Hose) is a nice kid. But I owe him an ass-kicking. And that Icon belt ain’t too shabby. Fuck, I love Hawaii…sign me up.

Ariel Helwani: You’re next fight is against Murilo Ninja Rua on CBS. Did you ever think, when you started out in this sport, that you would get a chance to fight on a network like CBS?
Phil Baroni: No, nobody did. Not the fighters anyway. Back then you weren’t fighting to become rich or famous. You did it because you loved it. You wanted to compete (and) prove yourself.

Ariel Helwani: Who’s the better fighter Hose or Rua?
Phil Baroni: Come on man, who do you think? Rua. Ask Rampage or Henderson who’s better. Those guys won questionable split decisions against Rua. Rua has fought the best in the biggest shows and held his own. Hose is a tough kid but he still has a lot to prove. He needs to rematch me and show his fans and the world he is for real. Its my job not to let that happen. There are too fucking many tough middleweights already (ha ha). We don’t need anymore.

Ariel Helwani: Who would you like to fight after the Rua fight?
Phil Baroni: Man, I already told you, I’ll fight anybody. Anderson Silva because he is considered the man and that’s what I want to be.

Ariel Helwani: What did you think of Frank Shamrock’s performance against Cung Le?
Phil Baroni: I think he won the first round. I think he hurt Cung in the third (round). Watching the fight I kept thinking to myself: “how the fuck did I lose to that guy.” I’m so much better than him.

READ THE REST OF THIS INTERVIEW AT MMARATED.COM