Breakdown: Lawler vs. Shields

Originally posted on FightHype.com

Phil Baroni vs. Joe Riggs
After both of these men were unsuccessful at middleweight, they both dropped down to 170 to try to prove that they can still be a force in MMA. Phil Baroni lost to Joey Villasenor at the first Elite XC even on CBS back in May of 2008. After that, he dropped to welterweight and has is riding a three-fight win streak. The thing that worries people the most is that he couldn't finish the lackluster Olaf Alfanso at PFC 10. Riggs, however, has fought at welterweight for a while now and holds victories over some of the division's best, including Chris Lytle and Nick Diaz...yeah, the same Nick Diaz I was just talking about. His last fight was in November against Luke Stewart, a fight that he won via TKO in the second round. Give the inexperience of Stewart, in most people's eyes, it wasn't an impressive victory. Both men have a lot to prove in this fight. It could very well be the last time we see either one of them in a cage. As of late, Baroni has belittled Riggs, saying that he may back out of the fight when Riggs missed a media conference call. We'll soon find out if that's true at the weigh-ins. Assuming Riggs does show up, I think he'll defeat Baroni with no problem at all, grinding out a decision.

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