Ex-UFC fighter Phil Baroni arrested for allegedly beating GF to death after she admitted to cheating on him
SAN PANCHO, MEXICO: Former UFC fighter Phil Baroni allegedly beat his girlfriend to death on Sunday, January 1 in Mexico after she confessed to having slept with another man, according to reports. The ex-UFC fighter was arrested after the woman reportedly suffered a severe head injury when he flung her into a shower during an outburst.
As per Mexican news outlet Tribuna De La Bahia, officers later discovered her naked on a bed inside the hotel room. Reports say that the professional fighter revealed to police that he and his girlfriend, Paola, had a furious argument in a hotel room in San Pancho after she confessed to cheating on him.
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The 46-year-old New Yorker, Phil Baroni, whom police suspect was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, told officials that he later forced Paola to take a shower, and when she resisted, he threw her into the shower, reported New York Post. According to the report, she smacked her head and slipped, then hurt her head again as she fell. The UFC veteran stated that when his girlfriend complained of being chilly, he helped her get into bed and then took off her clothes to cover her with a sheet. As per Baroni after asking him to buy her some beer and smokes, Paola fell asleep and wouldn't awake. After that, he hurried to the policemen outside the hotel to tell them his girlfriend was not responding.
After that, police discovered Baroni's girlfriend, a resident of Mexico City, naked on the bed with "multiple signs of beatings" and "no vital signs." As per New York Post, an extensive investigation into the incident commenced following Baroni's arrest for homicide. He is currently being held at Valle de Banderas. A State Department spokeswoman confirmed to the outlet that Baroni is being detained in Mexico and that they are "providing appropriate assistance."
Baroni had a 19-year MMA career that concluded in 2019 and saw him battle for a variety of the sport's largest promotions, including the UFC, Pride FC, Strikeforce, Bellator, ONE Championship, and others. He is best remembered for his 18-second knockout of Dave Menne at UFC 39, although he also faced former UFC champions Frank Shamrock and Evan Tanner, as well as numerous pioneering figures from the early days of MMA, as per MMA Fighting.
This was the UFC's second recent violent incident in Mexico. While on vacation with his wife Anne in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, last month, UFC President Dana White was captured on camera smacking her. The video was released by TMZ. White told TMZ this week that he was "embarrassed" and worried about the impact on his three children. "You’ve heard me say for years, 'There’s never ever an excuse for a guy to put his hands on a woman,' and now here I am on TMZ talking about it," White told the outlet.