by John Morgan on May 18, 2010 at 12:30 pm ET

Polarizing welterweight slugger Phil Baroni (13-12 MMA, 3-6 UFC) looks for his first UFC win since 2002 when he returns to action at UFC 118.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the promotion that Baroni has verbally agreed to fight on the card, though an opponent has yet to be determined.

Featuring a lightweight title rematch between new champ Frankie Edgar and the recently dethroned B.J. Penn, UFC 118 is expected to take place on Aug. 28 at Boston's TD Garden.

Baroni debuted for the UFC in February 2001. Despite sporting just a 1-0 record in mixed martial arts at the time, the "New York Bad Ass" earned a decision win over Curtis Stout at UFC 30.

After additional wins over Dave Menne and Amar Suloev, Baroni dropped four-straight contests to Pete Sell, Evan Tanner (twice) and Matt Lindland and was released by the UFC in 2005.

Baroni then spent the next four years garnering mixed results while fighting for PRIDE, Strikeforce, EliteXC and a handful of regional promotions while trying to make his way back to the UFC. Despite suffering a loss to Joe Riggs in June 2009, the UFC did come calling, and Baroni signed back on with the promotion in time for a November 2009 matchup with Amir Sadollah at UFC 106.

Prior to the fight, Baroni admitted to MMAjunkie.com that being back on the big stage was a big opportunity, but he was doing his best to treat the fight like any other.

"I've got to try and block that out and say, 'Hey, it's just a fight,'" Baroni said. "Once you get in there, it's a cage. I've been in cages and rings all around the world."

Despite his mental approach and training with American Kickboxing Academy, Baroni lost a one-sided decision to Amir Sadollah.

Baroni likely needs a win to keep his spot in the organization.