Questions abound after Sadollah outslugs Baroni
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.
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