The “New York Bad Ass” isn’t wasting any time getting back in the mix. Fresh off his July 12th knockout of Scott Jansen at Cage Rage 27, Phil Baroni is scheduled to return to action on August 2nd. Baroni will take on Ron Verdadero in a 175 pound bout as part of ICON sports promotion. The event is being dubbed “Hard Times” and will take place in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Blaisdell Arena.

The Bad Ass didn’t exert too much energy in his previous fight against Jansen as it only took Baroni 3:18 to score a knockout. In fact, Baroni may have exerted as much energy after the fight, fending off the attack of a Jansen associate and absorbing a slew of derogatory remarks from Jansen’s better half.

The victory snapped a three-fight losing streak for Baroni who has fallen upon hard times as of late. He currently claims a record of 11-10, however he has dropped five of his last eight fights. Now, he is looking to get back on track as soon as possible. Fiveouncesofpain.com provides more info on the rest of the fight card that will take place in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

It was an ironic turn of events this past weekend over in the UK. It turned out that Phil “the New York bad ass” Baroni wasn’t such a bad ass after all. In fact, Baroni showed that he was the complete opposite.

Actually, it was pretty bad ass the way he put Scott Jansen to sleep with a right hook in the first round of last Saturday night’s Cage Rage. But Baroni acted like a true professional following the fight and continued to play the part of a gentleman even in the wake of his post-fight attack.

Yesterday, Jansen released a statement in which he publicly apologized for the way his associate attacked Baroni in the moments following the fight. Jansen went on to call Baroni a true ambassador for the sport. Not too shabby for a bad ass! Fightline.com has Jansen’s full statement in which he apologizes for the incident.

Last night, Phil Baroni took to the UK as part of Cage Rage 27. Baroni didn’t need too long to overwhelm British born Scott Jansen on his home soil. Baroni used a right hook to rattle Jansen’s cage more than halfway through the first round. The shot left Jansen unconscious inside the cage. For Baroni, the victory could be the first step back to prominence. Check out the entire Baroni vs. Jansen match-up that took place last night in London, England.

Cage Rage 27 is in the books and Phil “Bad Ass” Baroni needed less than a round to dispose of Scott Jansen in an emphatic way. A powerful right hook from Baroni left Jansen out cold before a little more than three minutes into the first round. Only three of the eleven fights went the distance last night and here’s a look at all the results from Cage Rage 27.

Phil Baroni defeated Scott Jansen via KO at 3:18, R1
Neil Grove defeated Robert Buzz Berry via TKO (Strikes) at 1:29, R2
Mustapha Al Turk defeated James McSweeney via TKO (Strikes) at 2:06, R1
Tom Watson defeated John Phillips via Unanimous Decision, R3
Stav Economou defeated Piotor Kusmierz via Decision, R3
Robbie Olivier defefeated Ashleigh Grimshaw via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:01, R2
Brad Pickett defeated Cristian Binda via Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:52, R2
Aisling Daley defeated Eva Lisko via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:18, R1
Jason Young defeated Francis Heagney via Unanimous Decision, R3
Wesley Brown defeated Mark Brown via TKO (Strikes) at 0:31, R1
Jody Cottham defeated Umidjon Mavlyanov via Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:16, R2
Dave Vangasse defeated James Elson via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:43, R3

The work week is set to come to a close, although there are plenty of new stories opening up in the world of mixed martial arts. Forrest Griffin continues to get more respect, while a couple other fighters are trying to claw their way back to respectability. We’ll say TGIF as we get going with the Daily Crunch.

Sherdog.com updates its list of the top ten pound for pound fighters in the world. Forrest Griffin broke into the top ten for the first time following his upset victory over Rampage Jackson.

Kenny Florian shares his current views on UFC.com’s The Florian report. Check out what Kenny’s been up to as he prepares for his UFC 87 bout against Roger Huerta.

Phil Baroni has decided to drop down to the 170 lb. weight class in an attempt to resurrect his career. Baroni talks to Mmanews.com about the change and what’s in store for his future.

Todd Martin of CBS Sports talks to Brandon Vera who is apparently still very disgruntled over last month’s controversial loss to Fabricio Werdum.

Mark Hunt talks to MMA Weekly about his return to the cage and his upcoming bout at Dream 5.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s recent knee surgery may still delay his return to the octagon. Five ouncesofpain.com reports that UFC President Dana White is optimistic about a return this fall.