UFC heavyweight Pat ‘Hype or Die’ Barry (6-2) is looking to shed his “Nice Guy” persona for his next fight by finding his “Killer Instinct” against Cheick Kongo (15-6-2) this weekend at UFC on Versus 4.
If you follow Barry on Twitter (@hypeordie) you know how much of a character he can be. The heavyweight has also received a bit of criticism for his performance in a loss to Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovi? a year ago at UFC 115, where Barry took a friendly approach to fighting his childhood idol.
Barry has moved his camp from the Duke Roufus gym, where he was the heaviest fighter training with the likes of Anthony Pettis, and Alan Belcher to name a few, to the DeathClutch gym and training with monsters like Cole Konrad and Brock Lesnar.
In an interview with Heavy.com, Barry talks about the different mentalities after changing gyms and how the fighters at DeathClutch have helped him find his “killer instinct.”
“I never noticed that I [lacked a true killer instinct] I never knew until I got out here and started [training with these guys] that yeah, I’m the kind of guy who would sit there and say, `Cheick Kongo just had an extensive back surgery, so when the fight starts, I’ll just stay away from his back.’ Which is weird; I never knew I was that kind of guy. You just had a root canal? I won’t hit you on the left side of your mouth.”
Working with Morgan and the big boys at DeathClutch have helped him change those thoughts.
“Now, Cheick Kongo just had back surgery? I’m going to look for a scar, and I’m going to find it and bite it. I’m going to pick him up and do the backbreaker from WWF and I’m going to try to finish this dude to the point that he’s never going to want to fight again ever. That’s just the mentality that these guys have, and they mean it. Really, when it comes down to it, it makes the fight less intimidating.
“If it came down to it, he would do the same to me; they all would. If they knew any better, they all would. They would get in the ring and try to hit me in the head so I could never stand up again. If they knew any better they would because if they don’t, I’m gonna do it to them. If I don’t, I’m going to do it to you the next time we fight. I’m going to kick you in the head and it’s going to be over with. That’s going to be bad news; bad things are going to come from that and everybody knows that, except for Joey Beltran.”