Baroni: I want to be a champion! I want to win the title! That's all I want to do, and that's all I care about doing! That's my goal. That's why I dropped down to 170, which is where I should have been fighting at first. I've been in some big fights but I wasn't in the right weight class. At 170, I feel like a real serious contender and I plan on winning the title, but I've got to beat Joe Riggs. All of my roads lead to Joe Riggs, unfortunately for him, I'm going to knock him out and prove to everyone that I'm for real. My goal is to be a champion, but he's a tough fight. He said he had a great camp, so Joe Riggs will be at his best. He's going to be his best for me and I'm at my best. I expect, I plan on winning. I've been fighting a long time. I was 23 when I went professional. I've been fighting a long time and I want that belt. I want that gold. I want to feel what it's like to be a champion. I've never been a champion. I want to be a champion. I've fought the good fight. I've been up and down. I've fought for every big promotion in the world. It's my turn, it's my time. This is it right now. This is why I'm at 170. That's why I'm on a strict diet. That's why I'm religious in my journey now. I'm a different person. There's no way I'm not going to be a champion.

Fightline.com: Let's play a little word association: UFC

Baroni: NFL Superbowl.

Fightline.com: Dana White

Baroni: Great business man.

Fightline.com: Chuck Liddell

Baroni: Great fighter.

Fightline.com: Strikeforce

Baroni: Up and comer.

Fightline.com: Phil Baroni

Baroni: The best ever.

Fightline.com: Phil, talk to me about the mindset.  What kind of mental preparation do you have to have? People talk about leadership and personal development - you're talking about 10-12 years of training and training and sacrifice and more training day after day after day. Maybe you get a day off per week . . . maybe! Mentally, what's the difference of the mindset that you have versus all of the people that have faded off over the years since you came into the sport?

Baroni: Determination. Persistence. Perseverance. I'm not going to stop. I'm not going to stop, man. I believe in myself, I believe in my ability and I know that I'm going to be the champion that I was born to be. I just have to keep on fighting and not give up. To me, part of being a fighter is fighting through things. It's easy to fight when things are easy. The hard part is battling back and figuring out ways to win. My whole life is a fight, and I've been training my whole life for it. I'm not about to give up. I'm not going to give up at anything. I've made so many changes. It's . . . you know, the easiest way to put it is that I'm a martial artist. Before I was a prize fighter - I would train real hard for fights, and then take off and live a regular life. But now, I'm a martial artist living the martial way. As corny as that may sound, look at guy like Frank Shamrock. I can talk about that because I used to make fun of him. Now, being around guys like Frank Mir, I know what that means now. I'm living that lifestyle. I'm in the gym every day, getting better. I'm a student of the sport. I'll just show on Saturday night. Really, talking about it isn't much. I don't even want to get into it. I'm a different guy than I was before and I hope to show it on Saturday night.