Phil Baroni, ex-UFC fighter, arrested in Mexico for allegedly murdering girlfriend: report

Former MMA fighter Phil Baroni has been arrested in Mexico for allegedly killing his girlfriend, the prosecutors’ office in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit announced.

According to the prosecutors’ office, a woman was found dead in San Fernando on Sunday. Officials later identified the ex-UFC star as the suspect and said an initial hearing in the case would be held on Monday, the Associated Press reported.

Per authorities, the woman, later identified as Paola, was found in bed, covered only by a sheet. Her body had several bruises.

The newspaper Tribuna de la Bahia reported that Baroni contacted law enforcement and said the woman had slipped and hit her head after he threw her into the shower.

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Authorities said Baroni claimed he then helped her onto the bed and brought her a blanket when she complained about being cold. 

She allegedly then asked Baroni to bring her cigarettes and beer, the outlet reported. When he came back to the room with the cigarettes, he got into bed with Paola because he thought she was asleep.

It is unclear if Baroni had legal representation.

Baroni, 46, was born in New York and is listed as a welterweight with a 15-18-0 record on the UFC website.

The incident marks the second recent violent occurrence regarding the UFC in Mexico. UFC President Dana White was seen on video released by TMZ slapping his wife, Anne, while the two were on vacation in Cabo San Lucas in December.

Video of the incident went viral across social media. White told TMZ in an interview that he was “embarrassed” and concerned for how his three children were affected.

“It is what it is. And whatever people do say, it’s deserved. I deserve it. It happened. I don’t know why it happened and my wife and I have apologized to each other, we’ve apologized to our kids, and this is one of those things that everyone is going to chime in. I could care less what people think about this. We’re more concerned about our kids and taking care of our family.”

Baroni last fought in September 2019, where he was defeated via submission.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.