Chris Barnett Defeated Jake Collier In The UFC 279: Here Are Some Family Facts About The Mixed Martial Artist

Chris Barnett is a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who now fights in the Heavyweight division of the UFC. In 2009, he turned pro and mostly fought in the Xtreme Fighting Championships.

Barnett got a Bachelor’s degree and wrestled on a scholarship at Campbellsville, where he also went to school. After he won a dance competition and showed how good he was, he was asked to try mixed martial arts.

The MMA fighter is sad that 2022 didn’t work out for him because his beloved wife passed away earlier this year.

Chris Barnett
Chris Barnett

Chris Barnett’s wife was sick with encephalitis, according to UFC

At UFC Fight Night 206 on April 16, 2022, Chris Barnett fought Martin Buday. After an accidental elbow to the back of the head put him out of the fight in the third round, a unanimous technical decision ruled against him.

During the whole time that Buday was at the training camp, his wife was sick with encephalitis, and she died in May.

Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain’s active tissues that can be caused by an autoimmune reaction or an infection, according to hopkinsmedicine.org. The disease makes the brain swell, which can cause seizures, headaches, stiff neck, sensitivity to light, and mental confusion.

Chris said that he didn’t know if people knew that his wife had died on an episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. They called him 30 hours before the Buday fight and told him he had to choose.

He also said that she was fine when he left, but now this is coming up. Barnett didn’t think it was a camp with all that going on.

On February 8, Barnett’s wife was taken to the hospital. Within three months, she died too soon, leaving her husband and children behind.

Chris also said that he didn’t think about his attack plan or the fight at all while it was going on. Instead, while he was in the Octagon, he thought about his wife, family, and how his kids felt.

Chris Barnett was raised in Spain and Georgia

Chris Barnett was born on June 14, 1986, in Zaragoza, Spain, to a family of taekwondo practitioners.

When Chris was four years old, his family moved back to the United States. After a few moves, they ended up in Georgia.

His mother and father both have black belts in Taekwondo. He started training in MMA when he was five years old.

Barnett said on The MMA Hour in November 2021 that his mother yelled at him after his fight at UFC 268.

The UFC champion said that when he got home, his mom yelled at him.

Chris’s father recently had a stroke and can’t travel or talk as well as he used to. This makes it hard for him to get Barnett to fight him. He kept saying what he thought about how his son was finishing.

Chris said about his dad, “He’s still one of my biggest critics, which is great because he was mad at me when I put my hand down for the spinning hook kick.”

Pro MMA heavyweight fighter Chris Barnett’s net worth in 2022, after the major win

As a pro-heavyweight MMA fighter, Chris Barnett is expected to have a net worth of $2 million by 2022. So far in his career, he has won a number of major events.

In the beginning of his career, he fought in the Inoki Genome Federation, the Rizin Fighting Federation, and the Road Fighting Championship.

On May 22, 2021, the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) asked him to step in for Askar Mozharov against Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 188. It had been almost 12 years since their last fight.

Gian Villante’s last fight was at UFC 268 in Madison Square Garden on November 6, 2021. He fought Gian Villante and won with spinning punches and a wheel kick in the second round.

After winning, Chris (5ft 9in) was given a bonus for having the best performance of the night.

In a fight that was a warm-up for UFC 279 on September 10, 2022, he beat Jake Collier by TKO in the second round after taking a lot of damage in the first round.

Now, he is 23-8 in his professional career and 2-2 in the UFC. At UFC 268, he beat Giant Villante with a spinning wheel kick that knocked him out. This won over the UFC crowd.

During an interview after the fight, he said, “Thank you for the love and everything else. This is very important to me. I really, truly, from the bottom of my heart love you all.”

Background

Barnett was born in Zaragoza, Spain, where his US Air Force captain father was stationed.

Around age four, the family moved back to the United States. After living in a few different places, they settled in Georgia. Both of his parents have black belts in Taekwondo, and he started learning the martial art when he was about five years old. Barnett got his Bachelor’s degree from Campbellsville University and the University of South Florida. Barnett went to Campbellsville on a wrestling scholarship and started learning Judo. After showing off his moves in a dance battle, Barnett was asked to try mixed martial arts. He started training right away.

Start of a job

Barnett started fighting professionally in 2009, mostly in the Xtreme Fighting Championships, where he went 5–0 with four knockouts in his first six fights.

He also fought in other well-known Japanese groups, such as the Rizin Fighting Federation, the Road Fighting Championship, and the Inoki Genome Federation.

Chris Barnett
Chris Barnett

Final Fight Championship

Barnett finally got a call from the UFC after 12 years, asking him to step in for Askar Mozharov against Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 188 on May 22, 2021. He gave up in the second round and lost the fight.

In September 2021, it was reported that Barnett had tested positive for marijuana after his first UFC fight. He was suspended for 4.5 months and couldn’t fight again until October 6, 2021.

Barnett’s next fight was against Gian Villante in Villante’s retirement match at UFC 268 in Madison Square Garden on November 6, 2021.

He won the fight with a spinning wheel kick and punches in the second round. He got a bonus for having the best performance of the night because he won.

Barnett’s next fight was against Martin Buday on April 16, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 206. Barnett lost the fight by a technical unanimous decision because an accidental elbow to the back of the head in the third round knocked him out.

Barnett last fought Jake Collier on September 10, 2022, at UFC 279, which was UFC 279. Barnett weighed in at 267.5 pounds, which is 1.5 pounds more than the limit for a non-title heavyweight fight. Barnett was fined 20% of his winnings, which will go to Collier, the person he was playing against. In the first round, Barnett was knocked down and hit hard with the ground and pound. However, he got back up and won the fight by TKO in the second round.

Chris Barnett may be the most unassuming heavyweight fighter in the world, even though he is a grown man dressed as a teddy bear.

Physically, the man who goes by the name “Huggy Bear” is the opposite of what most fans might think of when they think of an MMA fighter. There are no incredibly chiseled bodies, angry walkouts, or over-the-top comments before the fight.

Barnett is exactly what you see: a very big man (5’9″, 295 lbs) with an even bigger smile.

Barnett is one of the few fighters in the history of the sport who really gets that being different isn’t a bad thing.

But it must be a little scary for the other fighters to see the guy they’re about to fight smiling and dancing his way to the ring while Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” plays in the background.

On the other hand, Barnett is often seen as a breath of fresh air by his fans.

Barnett said in a phone interview, “It’s almost like you have to have a character or you’re just another fighter.” “There are a lot of fighters. Some of them love to fight, and others do it just to get paid. I love to entertain. That’s all I have to say. Because of my fans, especially in Japan, I win fights. I almost want to say that they worship you for being you. When I go out in a bear suit, dance, or do whatever else, I’m just being myself.

“Later that night, you can see me doing the same dance moves in the ring at the club. I understand that these people are spending their own money to come see me. So why not put on a show for them? What’s that line from the movie? Are you not entertained!? Even though Eric Prindle beat me, I still danced and did other things for the crowd because if I were sitting there, I’d want to see a show. I came to see a show, so please put on one.”

Who wouldn’t be entertained by a super heavyweight doing handstands, flying knees, spinning heel kicks, and superman punches?

Don’t be fooled by the costume and happy music at the door. Barnett is a skilled fighter who can do some amazing moves for a man his size. His footwork and strikes are smooth and almost look like they don’t take much effort. In the fight business, the best way to get ahead is usually to have a fun way of fighting and a nice personality.

But Barnett hasn’t shown what he can do on a big stage yet.

So far, his weight and a long time off have been the two biggest problems in his career. Barnett says that the second one happened because of a fight with Xtreme Fighting Championship.

He said that the promotion stopped giving him fights, and because of his contract, he couldn’t continue to fight and make a living in any other way.

“At the time, that promoter wanted to make a point,” Barnett said. “At this time, XFC was making a lot of noise and getting on AXS TV. He had young fighters who wanted to fight outside of his organization because he wasn’t putting on fights. So my point was, if you’re not living up to your end of the deal, shouldn’t I be able to leave? It was horrible.

“I still have text messages from them saying, ‘Oh, you’ll never fight here, and I’ll call this promoter and tell him that you’ll never do this.'” It just sucked. I signed up with them at first because I was new and glad to be a part of something. I thought, “Oh, there’s no way they’ll take advantage of me. They like me.’ I sure was wrong.

Leave a Comment

error: Content is protected !!