Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:36 pm EST

Phil Baroni made his return to the Octagon after four years away. He got a standing ovation at the completion of his battle against Amir Sadollah, but that was the only place he won the fight. Sadollah cruised to a unanimous decision victory 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Baroni, introducing himself to new set of UFC fans, was a bloody mess by the end of the fight.
It's the kind of fight fans love but it's hard to walk away thinking the "New York Bad Ass" belongs in the UFC at this stage of his career. His career-long bugaboo, conditioning, reared its ugly head early in the second round. Baroni (pictured) dropped his hands often throughout the final two rounds, proving to be target practice for Sadollah knees and kicks.
"I knew I'd have to weather the initial storm. The guy would not go down," said Sadollah. "My strategy was to set him up with body shots. It felt good to get back on the winning track."
It was a nice win but you also have to question Sadollah's finishing power. He nailed Baroni with at least 50 clean shots in 15 minutes. Maybe we should cut Sadollah a break, it was only his third professional fight.
Sadollah won as a minus-230 favorite. The season eight winner of "The Ultimate Fighter" got a total of $30,000 ($15,000 to show, $15,000 to win). Baroni (13-12, 3-6 UFC) got $25,000. They may both get a Fight of the Night bonus in the 60-65k range (bonus of 70k went to Josh Koscheck/Anthony Johnson instead). Baroni is a longtime favorite of UFC president Dana White.
Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

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20 Comments
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Baroni backing up with his hands by his side for 2 rounds.. what a disgrace. I was honestly waiting for the ref to just call it in the 3rd, he has absolutely 0 offense and was just taking shots. He was just waiting to be finished, Sadollah's ability to finish is questionable to say the least.
So much for "The Best Fighters in the World". What a bum Baroni is. Less test and hgh and more cardio.
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1 clean shot in the 3rd round would have put him Out.
He didn't even have the stamina to raise his hands to attack or defend, let alone move and avoid shots. Not really impressed with either of them, practically anyone in that division could have won a decision against Baroni with him in that state, shouldn't have even been on the main card.
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If you were just a guy on the street spouting crap, I don't care. Just another whackjob and I can walk away, but in this business, writing, your opinion has value. No, not because of your deductive reasoning and logic, nosir, but because there are 1000's if not millions of people that read these articles that are complete morons and refuse to think for themselves that will parrot or accept as fact that crap that spews forth from thy mouth oh anti-noble Cofield. Objectivity instead of assumption is the true art of journalism. PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ANUS.
Didn't hate this article by the way. You're still a ball sucker though.
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What was the judge thinking who scored it 29-28??
Amir looked good but he has a long way to go with his defense and striking.
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Dont you people think we need a few "jobbers" in the UFC? Guys who are there that will never be champs but stepping stones? Boxing has them. Why not UFC. I mean Baroni does have a chin so it can make fights look better than they really are. Its also fun as a spectator to watch a guy get beaten down and keep standing.
Amir will improve and get better.
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Amir / sucks
Titto/ sucks
Forest/ sucks
Marcus Sucks
The key word is sucks: Jokers, Japan material, the stuf Fedor is made of. And what is with a card made of TUF rejects? Everyone in the house gets a contract, so WTF is the point of the show?
Here would be some real fights:
GSP V Anderson
Anderson V Machida
Anderson V Rua
Rua V Evans
Vitor V Anyone
Aldo V Penn
Etim V a name LW
Carwin V Cain
Cain V Dos Santos
Kos V Fitch
Jones V Anyone good
This is just a short list
Rampage V Evans (should have went down)
Little Nog V Evans, Rampage, Thiago, Machida, Rua, Johnson
Nutcracker V Allen
Hendo V Vitor / Anderson / Bisping (who needs to shut up again)
......etc............
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Fkkkk Everybody!!!!! That WAS the FOTN - Fight of the Night!!!!!
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