More details are starting to emerge about the case against Phil Baroni. The Pride FC veteran is in prison in Mexico where he has been charged with aggravated femicide after allegedly killing his girlfriend in a hotel room.
Heh as been remanded in the Venustiano Carranza prison in Tepic. This news report is four years old but it gives an insight into what conditions in the facility were like.
At the time it was named as the worst state prison in all of Mexico:
This video is a few years old but it says the prison Phil Baroni has been moved to is the worst in Mexico: https://t.co/8LzEgwhPKZ
— James Goyder (@JamesGoyder) January 9, 2023
Multiple injuries
The trial is expected to begin in the next six months. According to ESPN the prosecutor claims that,
Baroni verbally and then physically assaulted the woman, causing “at least 37 injuries” that resulted in her death.
Baroni was living in San Francisco at the time. He announced his retirement in 2019 but did compete in a boxing match in the nearby town of Puerto Vallarta a years ago, winning by first round stoppage.
That looks like it will be the last sanctioned fight of the 45 year old’s career. Mexico has introduced tougher sentencing for men who will women and reports suggest he could be facing a sentence of at least 30 years if he is convicted of aggravated femicide.
For those asking, Mexican laws have stronger penalties when a female is murdered, specially by their partners Almost 1,000 crimes were typified as "femicide" in 2021 with longer sentences in an effort to mitigate violence against women, which is a very serious problem in Mexico https://t.co/zpxL65NAJY
— Carlos Contreras Legaspi 🦁 (@CCLegaspi) January 10, 2023
Fall from grace
It is a remarkable fall from grace for the ‘New York Badass’. During the peak of his MMA career he fought for Pride, Strikeforce and the UFC facing the likes of Frank Shamrock, Yuki Kondo, Ikuhisa Minowa and Ryo Chonan.
But Baroni’s career ended in ignominy as he lost nine out of his last 12 fights. He also courted controversy with his support of fellow UFC veteran War Machine, a convicted rapist who is currently serving a life sentence after subjecting an ex girlfriend to a horrific attack.
Baroni was released by Bellator after a public show of support for War Machine, he even went as far as to attend the courtroom in solidarity with the mixed martial artist who was eventually convicted of a long list of charges that included three counts of rape, sexual assault and kidnapping.
Baroni spent much of his career competing in Asia where he fought for Pride, Dream, ONE Championship and Rebel FC. But the 45 year old’s immediate future is in a Mexican prison and if found guilty of aggravated femicide he could be there for a long time.
