Ikuhisa Minowa
Baroni joined Hammer House soon thereafter and rebounded in Japan's PRIDE Fighting Championships promotion with several knockout victories against Ikuhisa Minowa, Ryo Chonan, and Yuki Kondo. On June 4, 2006, Baroni was summarily defeated by Ikuhisa Minowa, whom he had developed a rivalry with, via unanimous decision in the Bushido Welterweight Grand Prix tournament in 2005.