Phil Baroni's been around MMA for a long time. His brawling, attacking style was effective back 2002, but it just doesn't cut it anymore. Baroni dropped to .500 for his career as he lost to Brad Tavares, an "Ultimate Fighter" alum. Tavares took Baroni's biggest shots and scored a TKO finish at 4:20 of the first round in the opening fight of the UFC 125 telecast on ION television.
"I knew going in there against a veteran like Baroni I could come and show what I can do, and show the rest of the UFC that I'm here as a contender," Tavares told UFC.com. "Winning it over Baroni is good, and finishing him like that is just icing on the cake."
Baroni (13-13, 3-7 UFC) usually comes out like gangbusters, but exhibited self-control early in this one. Trying to manage his stamina, he slowly stalked the much younger Tavares. Just over a minute into the fight, Baroni, 34, showed off that massive power when he caught Tavares with a left hook. The punch buckled Tavares' legs and he hit the ground near the cage. Baroni probably made a mistake by jumping on top of Tavares to ry and finish the fight.
The Hawaiian survived and got his wits about him as the fight got back to the feet. The two minutes were highlighted by clinch work along the cage. With 1:10 left in the round, Baroni drilled Tavares with a knee that landed low. After a short break, the fight was restarted in the middle of the cage. Baroni had a little trouble getting the engine revved up again.
Tavares followed a combination with a left high kick that stopped Baroni in his tracks. The "New York Bad Ass" backed up towards the cage and ate a huge right hook. That was followed by a knee and three more punches that dropped Baroni. Tavares held his head down with his left hand and blasted away with rights. Eight unanswered shots forced referee Josh Rosenthal to stop the fight.
Baroni rose to his feet with blood splattered on his nose and a small cut under his right eye.
Tavares (7-0, 2-0 UFC) reached the semifinals on TUF 11, where he lost a close decision to the eventual champ Court McGee. He turned 23 just 10 days ago and may be the brightest prospect from that season.
UFC 125 undercard (Courtesy MMAjunkie):
Jacob Volkmann def. Antonio McKee via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28).
Daniel Roberts def. Greg Soto via submission (kimura) - Round 1, 3:45.
Diego Nunes def. Mike Brown via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
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