Muscle & Fitness: Fighting words

IF YOU'RE GOING TO KNOCK A GUY OUT OR GET KNOCKED OUT, you might as well look good doing it, right? So figures the Ultimate Fighting Championship's mouthy middleweight contender and former teen bodybuilder Phil Baroni, who always steps into the Octagon shredded (Exhibit A: the photo at right). A wrestler, a brawler, a badass, a "savage monster"--he's all that, and he'll be the first one to tell you. Just don't call him a pretty boy.

Q You're known as a smack-talker, right?

A Yeah, but I back up everything I say. I just have confidence in myself and my training, and I believe in my ability. I'm not afraid to say what I'm gonna do when I get out there.

Q Describe your fighting style.

A I'm a Brooklyn brawler. I come to fight. I mix it up. I put on a show. Every one of my fights has been the most exciting fight on the card. I'm the most exciting, dynamic and controversial fighter in UFC history.

Q When did you get more girls: as a bodybuilder or as a fighter?

A Definitely as a fighter. As a body-builder, I was walking around at 240 pounds, like the Michelin man.

Q So there are more fighting groupies, then?

A Yeah, there are more better-looking and cooler fight groupies. I don't like chicks with more veins than me.

Q Would a bodybuilder stand a chance in a fight against a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter?

A No way. Not in a million years. And I'll gladly knock Craig Titus out to prove that.

Q You got something against Craig?

A He just thinks he's the bad boy of bodybuilding or whatever.

Q Have you ever met him?

A Yeah. He tried throwing an after-party when I was throwing an after-party one time, and I almost had to knock the yellow off his teeth. For the record, there's only one badass in Las Vegas, and that's me. If he wants to say something about that, I'll gladly break his face.

Q Who's your favorite bodybuilder, then?

A Right now I'm pretty good friends with Jay Cutler.

Q Why did you quit bodybuilding?

A Because I didn't like where the sport was going. You can't will yourself to win. I took second once, and every-one thought I [should have] won. I didn't like people telling me what to change about my body--I was just doing it for myself.

Q What's tougher: bodybuilding or fighting?

A No comparison: Fighting. I'm on as strict, if not stricter, a diet as a bodybuilder. I actually have to eat less than a bodybuilder because I have to keep my weight down to make a weight class. And in bodybuilding, no one punches you in the face. But don't get me wrong; bodybuilding has helped me learn a lot about nutrition, exercise physiology and rest. It's definitely helped me have a muscular physique, but not overly muscular.

Q What's the major difference between bodybuilding training and what you do now?

A As a bodybuilder, you go to the gym and train maybe 90 minutes, maybe do 60 minutes of cardio. I train 6-8 hours a day--boxing, wrestling, jiu jitsu, grappling. In body-building, you're trying to isolate muscles and make them grow. As a fighter, I'm not really trying to make my muscles big; I'm just trying to get stronger. It's more strength training than cosmetic-type training.

Q Do you psyche yourself up before fights?

A No, no. Training like a savage monster for eight weeks before makes me ready to fight. I'm about three weeks out right now, and all I want to do is fight.

Q Did you get into a lot of fights as a kid?

A Yeah, I'm a born fighter. I didn't just become a fighter to do something cool or to fight in front of 15,000 people or a million people on pay-per-view. I've been doing this since I was a little kid. Either you're game or you're not game. They call that "game blood," born with that fighting spirit. I just always had that, and this is my opportunity, thanks to the UFC, to utilize all my skills.

Q So what's the Octagon like?

A There's nothing else like it in the world. It doesn't matter how many people you walk down to the Octagon with, when you get in and close that door, it's just you and your opponent, and the better man wins, usually. It's the ultimate combat; it's the ultimate test of man vs. man. It's the most primal and real sport there is.

Q Do people ever call you a pretty boy?

A Yep, I used to be called that. People used to say "put your daisy dukes on" and stuff like that. But if you watch me fight, I'm the realest, rawest fighter there is. I have the best chin in MMA and the hardest right hand. No one calls me pretty boy anymore except my mom and my girlfriend.