Phil Baroni: "Go F**k Yourselves"

"Interview of the Day" honors go to Ariel Helwani at MMARated for drawing out the personality of notoriously introverted wallflower Phil Baroni. Some highlights from their chat:

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.

Were you happy with your performance against Hose?
What the fuck do you think? Was I happy with my performance against Hose? What are you retarded?

Who would you like to fight after the Rua fight?
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.

Any interest in fighting Shamrock again?
Fuck yeah man. That fight is my dream rematch. That's the fight I want to get back more than any.

You've trained with Kimbo Slice before, what are your thoughts on him?
He is a big, black, tough motherfucker. Could it be anymore obvious?

Any final words?
Go fuck yourselves. No I'm just kidding. I just want to thank everyone for their support. I've grown a lot over the years as a fighter and a person (and) my best years are yet to come. I'm still in this to be a world champion. I have a lot of fight left in me. Check me out on CBS May 31st when I will eat Ninja sushi for dinner.

Check out the rest of the article for more gems from the New York Bad Ass about his upcoming fight with Murilo Rua at CBS's Saturday Night Fights show, steroids, injuries, and Frank Shamrock. To summarize, Baroni thinks Rua is a much tougher opponent than Hose, but it's cool because conditioning makes champions. And clearly Baroni is going to be a cardio machine ten weeks after gassing in the first round against Hose. I mean, he's going to make Lance Armstrong look like an overweight one-lunged asthmatic on a chain-smoking jag in Denver...