Issue 017
September 2006
Baroni- “UFC can’t find me an opponent”
Former UFC middleweight and current PRIDE fighter Phil “The New York Bad Ass” Baroni has revealed that he could be part of an upcoming UFC card in Las Vegas.
With the announcement that Wanderlei Silva and Kazuyuki Fujita will travel to the UFC in November, Baroni has followed by posting on The Underground forum (MMA.tv), that he will be fighting a “top UFC middleweight.”
Since the original post though, Baroni has now gone online to publicly state that the UFC cannot find him an opponent, and has made veiled insults against certain fighters.
“Seems like Vaginitis is very contagious and a lot of fighters these days are coming down with it,” said Baroni. “All I can say is one looks a lot like a pet detective and the other like a welterweight. They both need to clean their labia a little better after training. It’s horseshit really I was told if they can’t find a suitable opponent I’m not going to have a fight. What the fuck makes a suitable opponent? Somebody they feel can beat me?”
The reference to “pet detetive” alludes to Rich Franklin, who is often likened to Jim Carrey. Who the possible welterweight could be is unknown.
Kazuyuki Fujita scheduled for November UFC card
PRIDE's have announced that heavyweight Kazuyuki Fujita is also scheduled to fight on the Ultimate Fighting Championship's November 18th card. Fujita has confirmed that he is scheduled to fight on the card, though an opponent has not been decided upon. His move to the UFC will offer some fresh talent to a particularly flagging heavyweight division.
Robbie Lawler vs. Jason 'Mayhem' Miller finally on
Icon Sport, formerly known as Superbrawl, has announced that Jason “Mayhem” Miller will finally face Robbie Lawler.
Miller was scheduled to fight Lawler earlier this year but was embroiled in legal problems in Hawaii. The fight will now take place on September 2nd.
Miletich vs Gracie
The International Fight League (IFL) has announced that Pat Miletich will face Renzo Gracie on September 23rd in Illinois.
The IFL release the dates for its next two events, which take place on September 9th and September 23rd in Portland, Oregon and Moline, Illinois respectively.
Renzo Gracie’s team The New York Pitbulls will take on Pat Miletich’s Quad City Silverbacks on the Illinois event, while the superfight between Pitbulls coach Gracie and Silverbacks coach Miletich will headline the show.
Gracie is a PRIDE veteran and widely regarded as one of the famous family’s top fighters. Miletich is a former UFC champion and has been hinting at a comeback for some time.
The Fight Network the most-watched digital sports channel in Canada
Launched last September, The Fight Network is a digital TV channel operating out of Canada, and though it began life with only 6 employees and no studio, it is noe the most watched digital TV channel in Canada.
The Fight Network shows many different combat sports, but its success its being attributed to having MMA on its broadcasting schedule.
A recent airing of PRIDE attracted some 45,600 viewers. TFN does not feature UFC, but does air pre- and post-match coverage for events such as Ultimate Fight Night.
“UFC has done a great job of promoting mixed martial arts and that's helped raise awareness of the sport,” says Garrow.
Plans are underway to expand the channel to the US, Britain and Australia.
