Within 60 seconds of sitting with Pat Barry, you are sure to smile. With his cheerful personality and witty humor, Barry can sometimes come off more like a stand-up comedian than a world class mixed martial artist (if you don’t believe me, check out some of his youtube videos). But don’t be fooled, what lies underneath the smiles and jokes is a humble man who has an extraordinary amount of heart and talent. Barry holds accolades from a plethora of different martial arts including Kickboxing, Kung-Fu and Sanshou, with his highest honor coming from the Shaolin Temple in China, where Barry trained with the Temple Masters and was honored by being named “the true Shaolin Warrior of the west”.
“It was a big deal to me.” explains Barry.
“[Learning from them], you get the physical side of the fight game, but really you get the spiritual side of it. The mental is what I benefited the most from them. Knowing that It really wasn’t a fight, it was full contact chess, it’s not just supposed to be two guys kicking until one falls down. There was an art to it. There is a science behind it and they have it mastered. So I was able to learn the non-physical fight from them.”
From studying Kung-Fu with the Shaolin Masters in China, learning the art of Muay Thai in the Netherlands, and now training at Duke Roufus’ “Roufusport Fight Club” in the United States, Barry is someone who has dedicated his life to martial arts. Come this Sunday at UFC Live: Marquardt vs Story, leave no doubt Barry will use all of his prior experiences as he steps in the octagon with fellow hard hitting striker Cheick Kongo.
“This is the fight I’ve been wanting since I got into the UFC.” says Barry.
“It’s a great opportunity. He’s a really well known, very intimidating, very deadly heavyweight, and I get to test myself against him. See where I stand on the totem-pole of heavyweights in the UFC. We are going to go to war”
And going to war is something Barry is no stranger to. If any of his previous fights in the UFC are any indication, this fight is sure to have fireworks. With exception to Barry’s last fight (against Joey Beltran), every one of his prior victories have come via KO or TKO, and just listen on how hard he took to the fact that he couldn’t finish that last fight.
“It’s pretty discouraging. I mean I know I hit hard…that’s a fact. That’s my thing. That was the very first time I walked across somebody who just walked through everything I threw at them no matter what it was. Eventually everyone falls down. I’m going to need Joey Beltran to get hit by a plane, and then get up and brush his shoulder off and keep walking. That’s the only way I’m going to get over it.”
If you believe Barry will look for another decision win, you are sadly mistaken. Barry truly lives on his nickname: HD, meaning Hype or Die, or in Barry’s definition
“Give me everything you got or don’t even bother. I’ve always been all or nothing on everything. No matter what it was. I’m doing it all the way or I’m not doing it at all.”
And it’s that way of thinking that has led Barry to all the success he enjoys as he steps into the Octagon this Sunday. With a victory over Kongo, Barry can take one step closer to becoming UFC’s heavyweight champion…and dare I say, “The worlds greatest ninja.”