Dear Mr. Caiazzo:

I have taken the time to read your article concerning me. I have then taken some time to consider the points you made, and re-read your article. I believe there are two possible scenarios that could be considered to explain it.

A) Phil Baroni is an electrifying performer, whose brash personality and extraordinary skills, both as a fighter and as a self-promoter, have galvanized you to write this article, heralding the arrival of a brilliant new voice in the arena of Mixed-Martial-Arts journalism, or;

B) Phil Baroni is a crass bore, and you are an idiot.

I believe, if you read my riposte', and give it some thought, you will come to agree with me that the correct answer is B.

I could go over your article sentence by sentence, and point out every contradiction, inconsistency, and unsupported claim, but it would be like beating up a helpless drunk at the county fair. So allow me to mention a few things that will stand as representative of why I believe (and you will doubtless come to believe) that you are an idiot.

In the second paragraph of your article, you claim, "any follower of the UFC knows the fallacy " that "rests" in the "reasoning" that "a win is a win". The fallacy in that statement is yours. You do not speak for the followers of the UFC. You speak only for yourself. Do not imagine for a second that you represent the "voice of the people". It is insulting to the fans who have their own opinions, and do not need you to supply them with opinions based upon your skewered concepts. Additionally, I wonder if you would consider two decision wins quite as much of a "fallacy" if Baroni had them over me, instead of the way things stand.

You then go on to trumpet your dismissal of Lee Murray for the balance of your article, and follow that up by mentioning him relentlessly, and including a picture of him. Quite a dismissal. The reason you could not dismiss him is because, like Baroni, he enthralls you by his antics, and like the simpleton you are, you are incapable of turning away. Which is pitiful.

You then go on to not mention Murray (Ha!) with the following statements: "There are few who doubt Lindland would defeat Murray" and "There are also few who would pay to see it happen". Have you done any research to support this unwarranted claim? If so, why didn't you provide a quote, from a UFC fan? I'll be happy to tell you why....but I have a feeling you're probably starting to catch on. You are again arrogantly speaking for the fans.

In that same paragraph, you then say, in response to my laying waste to Phil in our verbal war before our second fight, "fans like seeing that kind of stuff.." So do fans like seeing me, or not? You have taken both sides of the argument, and made an incoherent mess of yourself, and you're not even off page 2.

You say that it's a "Numbers game." That "people want to see Phil fight." Why didn't you provide some of the PPV buy-in figures for Phil's fights, and compare them with the numbers for events he doesn't appear in? Do the PPV buys shoot through the roof with people wanting to see Phil perform, with his Martial Arts skills, or more usually, his mouth? Why didn't you support your claim with statistics, gathered through research? I could go on, but the rest of page 3 is the same muddled ranting, unworthy of refutation, and I crumpled the page up and threw it across the room like the trash it is.
You go on, and parrot the "Lindland is boring" line that was old hat and disproved long before you decided to take one hand out of your boxer shorts and the other out of a bag of stale Cheez Doodles and start tapping away on a keyboard in a vain attempt to increase your own prestige by writing inane, meaningless drivel. But because I am a charitable person, and would like to instruct you, although it is you and you alone and not the MMA/UFC fans who you fraudulently claim to represent, by making a few simple points. Even you should be able to understand them.

I have worked hard to expand my repertoire to become a more well-rounded fighter.

I have traveled at my own expense, without the benefit of sponsors who pay my travel, living, and training expenses (unlike your fancy man Phil Baroni).

I have trained with numerous Martial Artists to better myself. You may, if you care to re-watch my second fight with Phil (if you can stand watching your hero getting pummeled), that a substantial percentage of that fight takes place standing, where Phil's deadly hands should have carried the day rather easily by your reckoning.

Also, if you watch the second Vitale fight, I attempted numerous kicks (including some head kicks!), which resulted in me flat on my back (where we Wrestlers are in uncharted territory, blah blah blah), where I........and brace yourself for this........started an offense, and reversed position, from the bottom. When was the last time Phil "Mr. Excitement" Baroni gave that a try?
As far as I can tell, based upon my observations, Phil's game plan, the one "people pay to see", consists of him coming out, throwing two or three minutes worth of barroom haymakers, gassing, getting dumped and mounted like a cross-eyed white belt rolling with Rickson Gracie in his heyday, and either hanging on for dear life and hoping the bell rings, or flailing away and eating punches, elbows and then slugging the referee. The more I think about it, I've spent more time riding Phil in one fight Than Lane Frost spent riding bulls in his entire career. And what happened in the Tanner fight? Where was your great "finisher" when Evan got caught? I'll tell you where. He was panting like a hunting dog on a hot summer day, dragging himself across the ring so slowly his own shadow was pushing him. And there you were, I'm sure, with your "N.Y. Badass" t-shirt on, desperately exhorting your hero on, to justify your pathetic, small-minded worship of him. I can only hope you got some small measure of satisfaction by watching him hit the referee, but if you watch the replay again, you'll see that even those punches, thrown at an unsuspecting man who was focused on ensuring Phil's safety, didn't land either.

2. You do not speak for the fans of the UFC, or Mixed-Martial-Arts in general By imagining that you do, you make a classic chump's mistake, and you render your article, and in fact, your credibility from now on, a worthless shambles, unfit to be taken seriously by anyone. The PPV buy-in numbers do not support your claims. Had you done any research, you would have discovered this for yourself. Here's an even easier test, one even someone as sloppy and lazy as yourself could have done on the way to the 7-Eleven for more Cheez Doodles; how many skate-punks do you see in Phil Baroni shirts? How many people at the gas station are talking about the "NY BADASS" while they fill their cars up? If you mention your interest in the UFC to someone with a casual or limited interest, how many of them mention Phil? You know the answers to these questions as well as I do, you poor fool.

More people remember Royce Gracie, and he hasn't fought in at least 5 years in the UFC. And why do you think that is? Because Royce Gracie was a professional athlete, who carried himself with dignity, in and out of the ring. And people remember him for that, and will remember him long after the Phil Baronis of the world, the Football player who pulls his helmet off and does his carefully-rehearsed boogaloo dance after he catches a 12-yard pass over the middle even though his team is down 24 points with a minute to go, the basketball player who pounds his chest and conducts an on-court audition for his upcoming sneaker commercial after scoring a basket, even as the other team races down the court and scores an easy lay-up on the 5-on-4 mismatch his antics have created, the boob with the $4,000 paint-job and the earth-shattering sound system in his car, which has a hanging muffler and is leaking oil all over his mother's driveway, are forgotten. People, in short, like you.

Should you decide to try your hand at journalism again, I will be waiting. And I will be neither this gentle nor this patient with you next time. This is my profession and, how I put food on the table for my family.

-Matt Lindland

That was good.

Brilliant!!!
Anyone know where the first article was posted and who wrote it?

daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn.

Originally posted by Curly Howard
Brilliant!!!
Anyone know where the first article was posted and who wrote it?

Isnt he referencing the one you posted to from inside fighting.com? it has the guys name who wrote it there. Tony something or other...its on the artcle :)

Yeah, that internet hack Tony Cazzo or whatever got ****ing owned.

Originally posted by GeNeRaL
Isnt he referencing the one you posted to from inside fighting.com? it has the guys name who wrote it there. Tony something or other...its on the artcle :)

probably, I just scanned through it and haven't read it yet.

"He was panting like a hunting dog on a hot summer day, dragging himself across the ring so slowly his own shadow was pushing him".

Matt Linland, the versatile striker in verbal combat.

Man, thats what I like to see from Lindland. The man has the talent to promote himself without being a "crass bore". He can counter trash talk.

I am interested in seeing a Muarry/Lindland fight now. Matt seems to dislike Muarry for sure