Is Pat Barry the UFC's Best Losing Heavyweight?

Filed under:

On paper, Pat Barry looks exactly like the kind of fighter who ought to be cut from the UFC. But in a sport where meaningful stats are hard to come by, the record books only tell a fraction of the story, which is good news for "HD."

Barry is 3-4 in the UFC, but he could easily be 6-1 or 5-2 or 4-3. And I don't just mean that in the purely speculative, hypothetical sense, the way the flap of a butterfly's wings could have resulted in the Nazis winning World War II. It doesn't take a gigantic mental leap to imagine a world where Barry has a winning record in the UFC. All it takes is a look at his losses and a little bit of sympathy.

Fortunately for Barry, it's the way he's gone about losing that has earned him the sympathy, which explains why he'll likely keep his job with the UFC at least a little while longer.

Consider Barry's first three defeats in the Octagon. After a successful debut at UFC 92, he dropped Tim Hague in the opening seconds of their UFC 98 bout, only to get carried away in search of the finish and ending up in a guillotine choke. He rebounded with a knockout of Antoni Hardonk, then broke his most valuable appendages on Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic's head before succumbing to a sloppy rear-naked choke.

Then, of course, came his infamous near-knockout (or, if you prefer, actual knockout followed by brilliant recovery) of Cheick Kongo in a bout that ended with one of the most spectacular comebacks in MMA history. Unfortunately for Barry, it also ended with him on his back, looking up at the lights.

You tweak one or two things in each of those three losses -- a more patient attack, sturdier bones, the lack of a miraculous recovery -- and Barry might be one the most successful UFC heavyweights of the past two years.

In fact, the only one of his losses that you can't explain away with some minor blunder or bizarre misfortune is his most recent loss via submission to Stefan Struve this past Saturday night. That one was utterly and purely Barry's fault, and this time inexperience and/or hyper-aggression weren't plausible scapegoats.

Not that it should matter, at least in theory. There are plenty of UFC fighters who never caught many breaks but still got cut once the losses piled up. Regardless of whether Barry could have won those fights -- or even should have -- he didn't. And in the end, isn't that what counts?

Judging by UFC president Dana White's reaction, the answer is: sometimes, but not always. Following the UFC on Versus 6 press conference, White explained that he was in no hurry to cut Barry because he "always brings it."

In other words, he's a kickboxer with an exciting style and an engaging personality, plus fans like him, so he gets a little more slack. It's the Dan Hardy rule. Most guys can't lose three fights in a row and remain on the UFC roster (some, like Gerald Harris, can't even lose one). But if the UFC likes what you bring to the table, you might get a fourth and fifth chance to halt a losing skid. It's one more reminder that this sport isn't just about winning and losing -- it's also about selling tickets.

In some cases, that results in some truly forgettable missteps (see also: Kimbo Slice). But in Barry's case, it makes for a welcome reprieve. Sure, he has some gaping holes in his game and he'll never be UFC champion -- or, most likely, even a serious contender -- but he's talented and he's fun. Even when (especially when?) he loses it makes for a memorable night, and he's always competitive, especially when the UFC is kind enough to keep him away from the heavyweight division's better grapplers.

If Barry were a wrestler with poor striking rather than a striker with poor submissions defense, he'd be cut by now. It wouldn't matter how much fun he was to interview or how narrow his defeats were. In that sense, keeping guys like Barry and Hardy around promotes a certain kind of fighting, and it's the kind the UFC thinks it can most effectively sell to fans.

But Barry (and, to some extent, Hardy as well) is a case where this system actually feels just. He's not a bad fighter; he's just unlucky. He needs work on his ground game, but at least he never bores you. Even with a 3-4 record in the organization, he's the best losing heavyweight in the UFC.

Of course, if he doesn't want to find out just how much slack the UFC is willing to cut him, he'd better pull to .500 very, very soon. Winning may not be everything, but it's still the most noticeable thing.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Boresha Latte
Bcreamy
Boresha Distributor
Skinny Tea
Boresha Compensation Plan

At UFC on Versus 6, Struve taps out Barry

At UFC on Versus 6, Struve taps out Barry

In one of the weirder looking fights in the UFC, the 6-foot-11 Stefan Struve submitted the 5-foot-11 Pat Barry in the co-main event of the UFC on Versus 6 in Washington, D.C., on Saturday evening. The fight started slow but had an exciting finish.

The two felt each other out for more than two minutes before truly engaging in the first round. With the unusual height difference, it was understandable, but not exactly exciting. Struve used a push kick to keep Barry from closing the distance, and while Barry did land a head kick and punch combinations. Neither fighter decisively took the round.

Early in the second round, Barry wobbled Struve with an uppercut then followed up with a head kick and leg kicks. Struve took Barry down, and tried to first grab a guillotine. He couldn't finish it, but as Barry got his head out of the choke, Struve transitioned into a triangle choke. Barry stood up with Struve still attached and slammed Struve onto his back, but that only tightened to choke. Barry was forced to tap at 3:22 in the second round.

This win puts Struve at 22-5, while Barry experienced his second exciting loss -- if there can be such a thing -- in a row. In his last fight, Barry was KOed by Cheick Kongo while being on the brink of winning by TKO. Barry, who started with a career in kickboxing, falls to 6-4.

Boresha Latte
Bcreamy
Boresha Distributor
Skinny Tea
Boresha Compensation Plan

TUF 14 in-depth: Dillashaw glad he didn?t have to babysit Caraway

TUF 14 in-depth: Dillashaw glad he didn?t have to babysit CarawayT.J. Dillashaw may be the brightest prospect in the entire cast of Season 14 of "The Ultimate Fighter." How he'll come off during the show is anyone's guess. You can never predict which fighters and personalities will strike a chord with the show's producers.

He's a former elite college wrestler who works under Urijah Faber and Team Alpha Male, one the leading gyms when it comes to producing elite bantamweights and featherweights. If Dillashaw isn't featured beyond his fighting, it looks like we'll at least get a good look at his personality in his weekly blog on Heavy.com.

The 25-year-old bantamweight landed with Team Michael Bisping. Dillashaw got a along with the brash Brit, but he could see why some people aren't big fans of the middleweight contender.

"I was a little afraid to be on Bisping's team because of the way he's portrayed in the past to be a jerk and no one really liked him that much ? which he is. He really is a jerk, but he wasn't like that with the team, so it's really not that big a deal," Dillashaw wrote on Heavy.com.

Dillashaw was impressed with Bisping's work in the corner of Marcus Brimage during the show's first Round of 16 fight. All in all, he thought Bisping was a good coach.

"If you're on his side, he's got you all the way. He really cared about us. He cared about how we did in the competition, he made sure that we had everything that we needed. He's a really good guy," said Dillashaw.

Featherweight Bryan Caraway, another Team Alpha Male fighter, landed on Team Jason Miller. Dillashaw wasn't surprised the show focused on the "Nervous Nancy" angle for Caraway. He's been around the 27-year-old and knows how much Caraway struggles mentally during the prefight.

"Getting back to the point of Bryan being on the other team, it was actually kind of nice because he couldn't rely on me for all his stability, me giving him confidence and whatnot. He had to get that from his team, and I didn't have to be bothered with it. I got to worry about myself, and what was going on in my situation," said Dillashaw.

Caraway took out Brimage in fight No. 1. The match up itself was chosen by Caraway. The rest of Team Miller decided they had to ease Caraway's panic by allowing the fighter to choose his destiny. He picked the right opponent.

"[Brimage] as an MMA fighter, he's a little ignorant to everything that goes on in the background. It's not just all about the skills; it's the lifestyle, the diet, and the mentality of knowing that you've got to be disciplined at all times," said Dillashaw.

Dillashaw gave credit to Bisping for going the extra mile on Brimage's weight cut. The fighter weighed 157 afternoon before the fight, and Bisping's weight-cutting methods helped him dropped 11 pounds in one night.

It looks cutting weight may be a common thread throughout the show. There was tons of risky food available to the fighters. Dillashaw said some of the featherweights were as high 178 before their fights.

Nuvogene Tea
Boresha B Latte
Boresha International
Nuvogene Skinny Tea
ARG Matrix

TUF 14 in-depth: Dillashaw glad he didn?t have to babysit Caraway

TUF 14 in-depth: Dillashaw glad he didn?t have to babysit CarawayT.J. Dillashaw may be the brightest prospect in the entire cast of Season 14 of "The Ultimate Fighter." How he'll come off during the show is anyone's guess. You can never predict which fighters and personalities will strike a chord with the show's producers.

He's a former elite college wrestler who works under Urijah Faber and Team Alpha Male, one the leading gyms when it comes to producing elite bantamweights and featherweights. If Dillashaw isn't featured beyond his fighting, it looks like we'll at least get a good look at his personality in his weekly blog on Heavy.com.

The 25-year-old bantamweight landed with Team Michael Bisping. Dillashaw got a along with the brash Brit, but he could see why some people aren't big fans of the middleweight contender.

"I was a little afraid to be on Bisping's team because of the way he's portrayed in the past to be a jerk and no one really liked him that much ? which he is. He really is a jerk, but he wasn't like that with the team, so it's really not that big a deal," Dillashaw wrote on Heavy.com.

Dillashaw was impressed with Bisping's work in the corner of Marcus Brimage during the show's first Round of 16 fight. All in all, he thought Bisping was a good coach.

"If you're on his side, he's got you all the way. He really cared about us. He cared about how we did in the competition, he made sure that we had everything that we needed. He's a really good guy," said Dillashaw.

Featherweight Bryan Caraway, another Team Alpha Male fighter, landed on Team Jason Miller. Dillashaw wasn't surprised the show focused on the "Nervous Nancy" angle for Caraway. He's been around the 27-year-old and knows how much Caraway struggles mentally during the prefight.

"Getting back to the point of Bryan being on the other team, it was actually kind of nice because he couldn't rely on me for all his stability, me giving him confidence and whatnot. He had to get that from his team, and I didn't have to be bothered with it. I got to worry about myself, and what was going on in my situation," said Dillashaw.

Caraway took out Brimage in fight No. 1. The match up itself was chosen by Caraway. The rest of Team Miller decided they had to ease Caraway's panic by allowing the fighter to choose his destiny. He picked the right opponent.

"[Brimage] as an MMA fighter, he's a little ignorant to everything that goes on in the background. It's not just all about the skills; it's the lifestyle, the diet, and the mentality of knowing that you've got to be disciplined at all times," said Dillashaw.

Dillashaw gave credit to Bisping for going the extra mile on Brimage's weight cut. The fighter weighed 157 afternoon before the fight, and Bisping's weight-cutting methods helped him dropped 11 pounds in one night.

It looks cutting weight may be a common thread throughout the show. There was tons of risky food available to the fighters. Dillashaw said some of the featherweights were as high 178 before their fights.

Nuvogene Tea
Boresha B Latte
Boresha International
Nuvogene Skinny Tea
ARG Matrix

On the eve of fight Evans changes his tune, now likes Jackson?s chances

Rashad Evans loves screwing with Jon Jones, so it doesn't come as a shocker that a little over 24 hours away from Jones' showdown against Quinton Jackson, "Suga" is now leaning towards "Rampage" at UFC 135.

Evans got a chance to see how serious Jackson was training for the fight:

"Yeah. I went to Muscle Pharm yesterday and I walked through the facility and I seen some of the things that he was doing and then I seen him and he was looking good, better than I've ever seen him before and I was actually really surprised. I just think that a guy like that that can get focused and get dialed Is a dangerous guy if he can get focused and dialed in. I think Jon Jones' mistake is he thinks he's too good right now. He thinks he can't be beat," Evans told 106.7 The Fan.

He also has extensive first-hand experience training with Jones and believe he may break at some point tomorrow night.

"Well, I've seen him get pushed in practice and I've seen him be very human and not as good as he looks on TV. I've seen that there's times where he looks great in practice but there's times where I've seen him quit in practice," said Evans.

Evans was really selling Jackson hard:

"A Rampage that's focused is a dangerous Rampage and I think that the biggest problem with Jon Jones is the fact that he's getting so overly confident and cocky that he can't get beat and all he has to do is step in the cage Saturday and collect his belt. I think that's dangerous thinking when you've got somebody in front of you who's been training hard."

Wow, the drama continues on "as the UFC light heavyweights turn." Keep in mind, earlier in the week Evans was having a tough time picking Jackson.

"I think that Jon Jones uses his range and his speed to keep Rampage off balance and at the same time using his ability to take Rampage down to try to impose some of his will. I think Jon tries to get it done, I think he does it standing up," said Evans.

Nuvogene Tea
Boresha B Latte
Boresha International
Nuvogene Skinny Tea
ARG Matrix