Posts Tagged ‘Pat Barry’
Pat Barry at the airport after UFC 115 (photo courtesy Pat Barry’s Twitter @HypeOrDie)
Not only did Pat Barry suffer a painful loss to Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 115 on Saturday in Vancouver, B.C., but he also ended up with a broken right hand and a broken bone in his right foot.
Barry dominated the first round, knocking down “Cro Cop” twice, but backing off each time to keep the fight standing. Barry looked to be in complete control in the first round against Filipovic, but revealed via Twitter that he broke his right hand very early in the first, perhaps even by the third punch, and broke a bone in his foot within the first two rounds.
Barry slowed noticeable in the final two-thirds of the fight, during which time the injuries did not appear to be evident. Filipovic endured the early beating, turned things around in the second round and appeared headed to the better side of what figured to be a close decision of a spirited fight when he sunk in a rear naked choke to which Barry tapped with 30 seconds remaining in the fight.
“It sucks to say, but I (panicked) last night after I knew my hand and foot were done,” Barry said on Twitter in response to someone asking him if he was undone by giving “Cro Cop” too much respect.
Filipovic pitched UFC boss Dana White for submission of the night in his post-fight Octagon interview with Joe Rogan, and White in fact did award the legend the $85,000 check on a night where there was solid competition for the money.
Pat Barry isn’t one to hold back his emotions.
Barry started shedding tears after knocking out Antoni Hardonk at UFC 104, and he’s usually one with a large smile on his face and joking with fans and teammates.
So when he was a guest of Rear Naked Choke Radio with Joe Rizzo and Hector Castro on the MMA DieHards Radio Network, Barry (5-1) admitted two things — his undying idolizing of his UFC 115 opponent Mirko “Cro Cop” and being driven by fear when the cage door locks.
“This is the one I’ve never wanted and the one I’ve always wanted at same time,” Barry said on the show. “He’s one of my heroes. He’s a guy I mimic a lot of my fighting after. How often do I get to pit myself against the man (I look up to) and go up against him and test what I can do against what I know and the rest of the world knows what he could do?
“Fighting is scary. Fear is what brings out the best. … I don’t want to hit anyone that they can’t fight anymore. I want to win.”
Barry and “Cro Cop” will take center stage at UFC 115 in Vancouver, when they enter the Octagon in the co-main event spot. While the position is probably nothing new to “Cro Cop” (26-7-2, 1 NC), Barry is a neophyte in the spotlight position. In fact, Barry’s jump from undercard sensation to co-headliner happened after just three UFC bouts.
“After I beat Antoni Hardonk and I heard Cro Cop and I said, Yes,” Barry said. “Then after I hung up the phone I said, ‘Oh shit, what did I just agree to?’ ”
After the Hardonk bout, Barry saw his popularity skyrocket. With it came an increased demand in various appearances across the country.
His training camp has taken a hit because of it. He hasn’t been able to consistently work out of the same gym.
“My whole training camp has been consisted of hotel rooms and fast food joints,” Barry said. “No patterns. No consistency.”
It’s a small price to pay in his mind for living the life he’s always wanted to live.
“’I’ve always wanted to be a real-life ninja,” Barry said. “Now I’ve worked hard enough where I can be a real-life ninja. I love every minute of it.”
A win over Cro Cop would only add to the dream.
Predictably, like the emotions he wears on his sleeve, Barry doesn’t expect the fight to go to the ground. He plans to stand and trade with the feared striker that once famously said: “Right leg hospital, left leg cemetery.”
But if the fight by some sort of divine intervention does go to the ground, don’t expect Barry to panic.
“(My jiu jitsu is) definitely better than the world knows,” he said. “I’m more comfortable than I ever been. My jiu jitsu doesn’t suck. … I’m better, but I’ve only done it live (in a fight) twice.”
Either way, Barry isn’t looking past Cro Cop. He’s been asked by fans alike about his chances at making a run at the UFC heavyweight title, and the response always revolves around the “Cro Cop” fight. Who can blame him? To Barry, a fight with the MMA legend and his idol is more valuable than any title fight that may come in the future.
“This not one of the biggest, this is THE biggest. This is the one,” Barry said. “This is the epitome of fights for me.
“Let’s say I do win, since there’s no guarantees. What am I supposed to do after that? I could sit in the chair and stare off in the distance for like a year.”
RICH FRANKLIN vs. CHUCK LIDDELL
Heads, Franklin wins: By all accounts, Franklin should win this fight. He’s younger, he’s more well-rounded and he’s the more technical striker. Franklin needs to stick and move, wear down Liddell and test his opponent’s cardio. A year layoff is not an easy thing to come back from, and Franklin should look to expose that ring rust.
Tails, Franklin loses: Sure, Liddell has been knocked out his last two fights, but Shogun Rua and Rashad Evans hit much harder than Franklin does. Liddell also hits much harder than Vitor Belfort, the man who knocked out Franklin last September. Most worrisome, though, is the fact that Franklin is moving back up to 205 pounds after two 195-pound catch weight bouts. Franklin’s comments about the difficulties of putting muscle on as he gets older is worrisome, and leaves doubt as to just how good he will look in his latest light-heavyweight bid.
Tails, Liddell wins: Have you seen those twitter pictures of Liddell training? DAMN! This might be the one fighter who means it when he says he’s coming into a fight in the best shape of his life. Even if the rest of Liddell’s conditioning doesn’t equal up to his new six pack, Franklin’s wrestling is not good enough to take him down. That means that this fight will stay on the feet, where, even at age 40, Liddell has the firepower to put away Franklin.
Heads, Liddell loses: While the Evans and Rua knockouts are still fresh in everyone’s minds, the harder fact to ignore is that Liddell has lost four of his last five, with the only win coming over a Wanderlei Silva that desperately needed to drop down to middleweight. No matter how slimmed down he looks, a year is still a long comeback time, and ring rust will be a factor. If Franklin can employ the same strategy that Keith Jardine used against Liddell, the retirement questions will only get louder.
MIRKO “CRO COP” vs. PAT BARRY
Heads, “Cro Cop” wins: It’s easy to say that Barry’s height — or lack of it — will be a disadvantage in this fight, but the truth is it might actually make a difference this time. The real difference will be the length “Cro Cop” has in his legs. If he can keep Barry at distance, he will eventually land that head kick, and it will be a short night for Barry.
Tails, “Cro Cop” loses: Let’s be honest, “Cro Cop” has not looked good in the UFC. Sure he’s won two of his last three, but those wins came over Mostapha Al-Turk and Anthony Perosh, but those two sport a combined 0-7 UFC record, and are out of the promotion. While the rest of the sport has evolved, “Cro Cop” has stuck to what used to bring him success. He is a one-dimensional fighter. That might be OK in some bouts, but he is fighting someone who is better at the one dimension.
Tails, Barry wins: Pat Barry has power. The former K-1 kickboxer can finish fights with his hands (see Hardonk, Antoni) and his legs (see Evensen, Dan). The leg kicks will be a huge factor in this fight, as “Cro Cop” is extremely flat-footed and moves in a deliberate pattern. Expect Barry to chop down “Cro Cop” with kicks, before eventually moving in for the kill.
Heads, Barry loses: Hate to keep harping on the height, but a head kick on Barry is a body kick on most heavyweights. If Barry tries to prove that he is the better striker by trading blows in the pocket, he won’t like the answer he gets.
Rear Naked Choke Radio presents UFC 114 submission of the night winner Ryan Jensen and UFC 115 combatant Pat Barry on the MMA DieHards Radio Network. Joe Rizzo and Hector Castro are back from the UFC Expo in Las Vegas and broadcasted live from LA Boxing in Paramus, NJ.
Jensen won his fight and a $65,000 bonus when he got Jesse Forbes to tap out in 66 seconds from a guillotine choke. In addition to the money, he might have saved his second go-round with the UFC, rebounding from a loss to Mark Munoz. Jensen has never gone the distance in any of his 21 fights, winning 15.
The colorful Barry (5-1) takes on one of his idols, Mirko Cro Cop, on June 12 in Vancouver. Barry recently continued his hectic touring schedule in Vegas at the Expo.
When Matt Mitrione entered The Ultimate Fighter’s 10th season, he was an ex-NFL player with no professional MMA wins.
Now, after a successful UFC debut, Mitrione is becoming a true mixed martial artist.
Mitrione’s next opponent is, Kimbo Slice. The TUF 10 castmates will meet at UFC 113 in Montreal on Saturday’s pay-per-view portion of the card.
“I’m extremely comfortable, extremely confident for this fight,” Mitrione told The Free Roll show on the MMA DieHards Radio Network. “I’m glad that Kimbo wants to eat a ‘Meathead’ sandwich because he’s sure going to get all of it he wants. We’re going to get in there, we’re going to bang. I firmly believe that I’m going to put my hands on him and put him to sleep. He thinks the same thing, and that’s what the fun part of the fight is.”
Mitrione also responded to a statement made by TUF 10 champion Roy Nelson, who said that Kimbo’s ground game was better than Mitrione’s.
“Roy Nelson saying that my ground game’s worse than Kimbo’s is one of the dumbest comments you can make,” Mitrione said on the show. “And if you’re going to base your opinion on my ground game off of the show then I can base my opinion of Roy’s ground game on the show and say Roy’s ground game sucks too, because Roy did as little as possible, he sandbagged everything. So it’s just kind of silly. It kind of gets me when people speculate on dumb shit like that. I respect Roy, but I think he’s out of place by throwing that out there.”
Speaking of the ground game, Mitrione says that his is constantly evolving and improving, and that fans will be surprised when they see how much so.
“I’m trying crazy shit (in practice) that I’ve never tried before, and I’m pulling it off probably 40 percent of the time,” Mitrione said. “I’m trying to make my own submissions up. I’m going to name something the ‘Meat-o-tine.’”
Mitrione talked about working with usual Free Roll co-host Duke Roufus and fellow UFC heavyweight Pat Barry, his striking technique, and new sponsorship with Dell Computers’ Alienware brand. Plus, guest co-host Hector Castro volunteered host Cameron Gidari for a dance-off against Mitrione and Barry. No word on whether or not Barry would bring his best Techno Viking imitation to the contest.
To hear full episodes of The Free Roll, listen live every Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. To make sure you never miss an episode, subscribe to the podcast by searching “MMA Radio” on iTunes.
Fighters will be supporting Alienware's new M11x system which is an 11.5 inch, fully portable laptop gaming computer.
With mainstream companies like Nike, Gatorade, Under Armour and Everlast slowly entering the booming MMA industry wanting their piece of the growth, Suckerpunch Entertainment’s Brian Butler-Au announced Thursday the signing of another giant investing into MMA, Alienware Computers, which is a division of Dell.
The deal, which Butler-Au was putting together for over a year, entrusts Suckerpunch Entertainment to handle Alienware’s MMA business. Jens Pulver, a passionate online gamer, will be the main face of the MMA brand of Alienware.
Pulver’s extensive online gaming background is highlighted by his appearance as an NPC in Vogster Entertainment’s CrimeCraft. The former UFC lightweight champion will be providing color commentary, fight predictions, and give gaming analyis for Alienware, which was developed by Dell to target the younger demographic of online gamers — the same group on which MMA has thrived.
Pulver isn’t the only Suckerpunch fighter involved as Alienware has also signed UFC fighters Matt Mitrione, Amir Sadollah and Pat Barry.
Mitrione is set to take on Kimbo Slice at UFC 113 in Montreal on May 8. The NFL veteran made a name for himself in MMA as a cast member on Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter and also runs Eden, a successful supplement company.
The first-ever TUF winner to enter the show with no professional fights, Sadollah’s quirky sense of humor and dedicated work ethic aided his rapid rise to stardom in Season 7. Sadollah also hosts “The Aftermath” weekly TUF review show on Spike.com.
Barry, coached by famed trainer and Free Roll radio co-host Duke Roufus, is a former K-1 kickboxer and the self-proclaimed “world’s greatest striker.” Nicknamed “Get Hype,” or “HD”, the athletic quote machine takes on legendary Pride champion Mirko ”Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 115 in Vancouver on June 12.
