UFC heavyweight Pat Barry discusses his fight victory over Christian Morecraft, improvements in his ground game and whether he can compete for the title and more. Pat Barry on whether he is going back to his old haircut: “I made a deal. I haven’t done …
UFC heavyweight Pat Barry discusses his fight victory over Christian Morecraft, improvements in his ground game and whether he can compete for the title and more.
Pat Barry on whether he is going back to his old haircut:
“I made a deal. I haven’t done this since high school—that I was not going to cut the top of my hair until I submit somebody in the octagon. Probably means that I’m going to have a Clay Guida in a little while. That’s the plan for now. I’m bringing it back. Somebody actually wrote, Snooki got taller at the weigh-ins. The hair is going to be here for a bit.”
On the progression of his ground game in the fight:
“Well, I’ve said I’m finally the smallest guy in the room in Death Clutch. I’m finally the smallest guy there. We got Brock Lesnar, Cole Konrad who is a monster, Jon Madsen, a bunch of other guys.
We got Marty Morgan, who is a world-renowned wrestling coach. we’ve got Comprido who is also our ji-jitsu coach. So i have been able and given the opportunity finally roll around and grapple and get stronger with a bunch of guys who are a lot bigger than i am. I mean Christian Morecraft fell on top of me. Christian Morecraft went for submissions. But if you can become accustomed to Cole Konrad trying to pull your arm or Brock Lesnar trying to squeeze your head off, then everybody else you tend to stay a little bit more calm and relaxed.
Whereas before, back in the day as soon as you grabbed my forearm I just started tapping everything. I am definitely growing. my ground game is not as garbage as the world thinks.
I actually had a guillotine for about three seconds. I don’t know if you all saw that. But I had it in for about three seconds then I got taken down. That sucks. Sorry, Marty.”
Guillard choking, in every sense of the word. (Photo: UFC.com)
While the ‘UFC on FX’ debut may have lacked the big names of UFC 142, the fights themselves packed just as much fire-power. For the second straight week, six fighters were able to put away their opponent and double their earnings in less than a round. Punches, chokes, and a torrent of brutal hellbows were all used to send grown men into la-la land, and we’ve got the GIF’s to prove it.
Guillard choking, in every sense of the word. (Photo: UFC.com)
While the ‘UFC on FX’ debut may have lacked the big names of UFC 142, the fights themselves packed just as much fire-power. For the second straight week, six fighters were able to put away their opponent and double their earnings in less than a round. Punches, chokes, and a torrent of brutal hellbows were all used to send grown men into la-la land, and we’ve got the GIF’s to prove it.
After losing two straight fights, Pat Barry needed to beat Christian Morecraft just to feel safe about keeping his job. While some fighters play it safe in those situations, Barry did quite the opposite and went after the bigger Morecraft, earning the …
After losing two straight fights, Pat Barry needed to beat Christian Morecraft just to feel safe about keeping his job.
While some fighters play it safe in those situations, Barry did quite the opposite and went after the bigger Morecraft, earning the first round knockout win and the kick boxer even showed off some ground skills prior to the finish.
It was a huge victory for Barry to become relevant in the UFC’s heavyweight division, but now that he has gotten back into the win column, a whole new batch of opponents are available for Barry to try and brutalize.
Barry didn’t check on Morecraft, but it’s safe to say he got some fans. Props: UFC.com
Overall, the UFC’s fourth biggest debut on a television network, which showcased two of the best lightweights coming off of losses and the organization’s second best announcing team, was as successful as it could have been. Sure, there were some long pauses in between the fights, but that’s to be expected when you draw out 60 minutes of actual fighting into a five hour television broadcast. The rattling punches and tapping hands that signaled an early end to many of last night’s fights kept a perfect rhythm with a drum we’ve been beating on CagePotato for quite some time now: The key to victory in mixed martial arts is evolution, not regression. If a fighter wants to stay relevant- or even employed- within the UFC, he needs to develop himself into the most complete fighter he can.
For an example of this, look no further than Melvin Guillard. Both fans and pundits were calling his performance “Vintage Melvin” while the dynamic striker aggressively pursued Jim Miller, arguably coming closer to knocking out the submission specialist than anyone else has. However, after one flying knee attempt too many saw Miller putting Guillard on his back, “Vintage Melvin” demonstrated the same ground game that has always been his kryptonite. An impatient Melvin Guillard did everything he could to get back to his feet, which resulted in Jim Miller taking his back and sinking in the fight ending choke. “The Young Assassin” is now 10-6 in the UFC, with all of his losses coming by submission. While permanently relegating Guillard to the undercards may be a bit drastic, it’s obvious that Guillard will never be a contender unless he fixes those holes in his ground game- something far easier said than done at this point in his career.
Jim Miller did exactly what we knew he needed to do to win. He weathered the storm against Guillard’s attack, he was persistent with his takedown attempts and he kept the fight on the ground once it went there. While a quick submission wasn’t exactly unexpected, it was still impressive enough to earn him Submission of the Night honors.
Barry didn’t check on Morecraft, but it’s safe to say he got some fans. Props: UFC.com
Overall, the UFC’s fourth biggest debut on a television network, which showcased two of the best lightweights coming off of losses and the organization’s second best announcing team, was as successful as it could have been. Sure, there were some long pauses in between the fights, but that’s to be expected when you draw out 60 minutes of actual fighting into a five hour television broadcast. The rattling punches and tapping hands that signaled an early end to many of last night’s fights kept a perfect rhythm with a drum we’ve been beating on CagePotato for quite some time now: The key to victory in mixed martial arts is evolution, not regression. If a fighter wants to stay relevant- or even employed- within the UFC, he needs to develop himself into the most complete fighter he can.
For an example of this, look no further than Melvin Guillard. Both fans and pundits were calling his performance “Vintage Melvin” while the dynamic striker aggressively pursued Jim Miller, arguably coming closer to knocking out the submission specialist than anyone else has. However, after one flying knee attempt too many saw Miller putting Guillard on his back, “Vintage Melvin” demonstrated the same ground game that has always been his kryptonite. An impatient Melvin Guillard did everything he could to get back to his feet, which resulted in Jim Miller taking his back and sinking in the fight ending choke. “The Young Assassin” is now 10-6 in the UFC, with all of his losses coming by submission. While permanently relegating Guillard to the undercards may be a bit drastic, it’s obvious that Guillard will never be a contender unless he fixes those holes in his ground game- something far easier said than done at this point in his career.
Jim Miller did exactly what we knew he needed to do to win. He weathered the storm against Guillard’s attack, he was persistent with his takedown attempts and he kept the fight on the ground once it went there. While a quick submission wasn’t exactly unexpected, it was still impressive enough to earn him Submission of the Night honors.
The co-main event of the evening had knockout of the night written all over it, with both men known primarily for their standup games. As expected, Duane Ludwig got the better of Josh Neer on the feet. Yet Neer kept pushing forward against Ludwig’s crisp attack and managed to drag Duane “Bang” to the ground. Once there, Neer did what few anticipated and locked up a fight ending guillotine. “The Dentist” improves to 33-10 in his mixed martial arts career, picking up his twelfth victory by submission.
The evening’s Fight of the Night honors surprisingly did not go to Mike Easton vs. Jared Papazian, but rather Pat Barry vs. Christian Morecraft. Pat Barry may have struggled to stop Morecraft’s takedowns, but “HD” displayed a much improved ground game- a testament to his time training with Team Deathclutch. Never mind that impressive roll out of the armbar attempt- as little as two fights ago, Pay Barry would have been choked out the first time Morecraft mounted him and began to work for the rear-naked choke. Yet Barry’s continued efforts to evolve as a fighter paid off, as he managed both times to get back to his feet and outstrike Morecraft. After dropping Morecraft with a left hook, Barry swarmed in with some vicious ground and pound to end the fight at the 3:38 mark of round one.
If you didn’t get to see Mike Easton vs. Jared Papazian, you missed an excellent fight that has essentially become par for the course whenever the bantamweights step into the octagon. Both men displayed excellent conditioning in a quick paced fight, with Easton getting the better of Papazian in the standup exchanges throughout the fight. But don’t feel bad if you missed it- apparently one of the judges missed the fight as well, scoring it a 28-28 draw. Easton improves to 12-1 with the victory.
On a final note, Knockout of the Night honors went to Canadian prospect Nick “The Ninja of Love” Denis (seriously) for his brutal standing elbows knockout over Joseph “Not Dan Hardy” Sandoval (seriously). The impressive UFC debut for Denis improves his record to 11-2, with ten of those victories coming by knockout. All bonuses from the evening were worth $45k.
Undercard Results
-Nick Denis def. Joseph Sandoval via KO (standing elbows) 0:22 of Round 1
-Daniel Pineda def. Pat Schilling via submission (rear-naked choke) 1:37 of Round 1
-Fabricio Camoes def. Tommy Hayden via submission (rear-naked choke) 4:03 of Round 1
-Charlie Brenneman def. Daniel Roberts via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
-Habib “The Nurm” Nurmagomedov def. Kamal Shalorus via submission (rear-naked choke) 2:08 of Round 3
-Jorge Rivera def. Eric Schafer via TKO (punches) 1:31 of Round 2
Main Card Results
– Barry def. Morecraft via KO (punches) at 3:38 of Round 1
– Mike Easton def. Jared Papazian via majority decision
– Josh Neer def. Duane Ludwig via submission (guillotine) at 3:05 of Round 1
– Jim Miller def. Melvin Guillard via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:04 of Round 1
Barry was able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat last night at the inaugural UFC on FX card.He did what he always has.He arrived joking and full of smiles without any air of attitude or anger and then showed up and fought on fight nig…
Barry was able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat last night at the inaugural UFC on FX card.
He did what he always has.
He arrived joking and full of smiles without any air of attitude or anger and then showed up and fought on fight night.
He also showed a few things that we have also come to expect from him. Namely, that he almost lost the fight and just barely came back to win it.
That leads to some other questions as well. Ones that fans won’t get to know the answer to until he steps into the cage again.
Until then, there are three questions that fans are going to have unanswered when it comes to the heavyweight kickboxer.
Pat Barry walked into the UFC’s first fight card on FX on a two-fight losing streak. He had been taken out by not just Cheick Kongo, but Stefan Struve as well.Dana White may like Barry, but three losses in a row seems to be the death knell fo…
Pat Barry walked into the UFC’s first fight card on FX on a two-fight losing streak. He had been taken out by not just Cheick Kongo, but Stefan Struve as well.
Dana White may like Barry, but three losses in a row seems to be the death knell for most competitors in the UFC. There are a few exceptions, and Barry might have been one of them.
But the UFC is a business, and with the consolidation of Strikeforce’s heavyweight stable there is a good chance it may have squeezed Barry’s spot on the roster.
The other tell-tale sign that Barry was getting his last shot with the company was his opponent. Whenever fan favorites face off against relative unknowns (or those with losing records inside the promotion) it usually means it is their last chance with the promotion.
With a 1-2 UFC record, Christian Morecraft fit that to a tee on both accounts.
Barry was able to keep his job, but it was close. As illustrated in every one of his bouts, Barry still has issues with anything outside of striking.
Barry not only got the win, but got a great knockout as well, which means he keeps his main card status. He was also rewarded the fight of the night bonus (which is debatable, considering the thrilling performance Mike Easton and Jared Papazian put on).
Still, it fills his coffers a bit more and makes him a triple bonus winner, with two having come on the same night. That makes him a little more indispensable to the UFC brass, but with more competition merging into the company he needs all the help that it brings.
Barry is likable and, like virtually all sports, in MMA that helps. Trash talking will get you only so far, as talent takes you the rest of the way. Even more, If you are an exciting fighter, fans will actually like you better if you are respecting all the while giving thrilling performances.
But, at the end of the day, fans like winners and Barry did that Friday night. Again, if he hadn’t he could have found himself holding a pink slip and in the unemployment line.
Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA, and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report. He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.comwhich focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film, and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.
UFC heavyweight Pat Barry discusses his fight victory over Christian Morecraft, improvements in his ground game and whether he can compete for the title and more.
