Chris Barnett

Chris Barnett
Barnett in 2017
Born	Christopher James Barnett (1986-06-14) June 14, 1986 (age 38) Zaragoza, Spain[1]
Other names	Beastboy Huggy Bear
Residence	Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	264 lb (120 kg; 18 st 12 lb)
Division	Heavyweight (present) Super Heavyweight
Reach	75 in (191 cm)[2]
Style	Taekwondo Wrestling Judo
Fighting out of	Athens, Georgia, U.S.
Team	Barnett Taekwondo Academy
Rank	3rd dan black belt in Taekwondo[3]
Years active	2009–present
Professional boxing record
Total	6
Wins	2
By knockout	1
Losses	4
By knockout	1
Mixed martial arts record
Total	32
Wins	23
By knockout	18
By decision	5
Losses	9
By knockout	4
By submission	1
By decision	4
Other information
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Christopher James Barnett[4] (born June 14, 1986)[5] is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Background

Barnett was born in Zaragoza, Spain, where his father was stationed as a United States Air Force captain.[6] Around the age of four, the family returned to the United States and after bouncing around they settled in Georgia.[6] Both of his parents are black belts in Taekwondo, and he started training the martial art around the age of five.[7] Barnett went to Campbellsville University and University of South Florida and graduated with a bachelor's degree. At Campbellsville, Barnett competed in Wrestling on a scholarship and began training in Judo.[8] Barnett received an invitation to try out mixed martial arts after showing his moves in a dance battle, and started training immediately.[7]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Starting his professional career in 2009, Barnett fought primarily in Xtreme Fighting Championships and started 5–0 with four knockouts.[9] He also fought in other notable Asian organizations, such as Rizin Fighting Federation, Road Fighting Championship, and Inoki Genome Federation.[10]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After 12 years, Barnett finally got a call from the UFC to replace Askar Mozharov on short notice against Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 188 on May 22, 2021.[11] He lost the bout by submission in the second round.[12]

In September 2021, news surfaced that Barnett had tested positive for marijuana stemming from his UFC debut, and he was suspended for 4.5 months, becoming eligible to return on October 6, 2021.[13]

In his next fight, Barnett fought Gian Villante in Villante's retirement fight at UFC 268 on November 6, 2021, in Madison Square Garden.[14] He won the fight by technical knockout in the second round via spinning wheel kick and punches.[15] The win earned him the Performance of the Night bonus award.[16]

Barnett next faced promotional newcomer Martin Buday at UFC Fight Night 206 on April 16, 2022.[17] Barnett lost the fight via technical unanimous decision after being rendered unable to continue due to an unintentional elbow to the back of the head in the third round.[18]

Barnett most recently faced Jake Collier on September 10, 2022, at UFC 279.[19] At the weigh-ins, Barnett weighed in at 267.5 pounds, 1.5 pounds over the non-title heavyweight limit. Barnett was fined 20% of his purse, which went to his opponent Collier.[20] Barnett suffered a knockdown and heavy ground and pound in the first, however he rallied and won the fight via TKO in the second round.[21]

Barnett was scheduled to face Chase Sherman on April 8, 2023, at UFC 287.[22] However, Barnett pulled out due to undisclosed reasons in early April and was replaced by Karl Williams.[23]

Barnett was scheduled to face Mohammed Usman on March 23, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 53.[24] However, Barnett withdrew due to unknown reasons and was replaced by Mick Parkin.[25]

Barnett was scheduled to face Waldo Cortes-Acosta on October 12, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 244.[26] However, Cortes-Acosta withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by Junior Tafa.[27] Subsequently, Barnett withdrew after being unable to travel due to Hurricane Milton and was replaced by UFC newcomer Sean Sharaf.[28]

Replacing an injured Justin Tafa, Barnett was scheduled to face Kennedy Nzechukwu on October 26, 2024 at UFC 308.[29][30] Barnett lost the fight by technical knockout in the first round.[31]

Personal life

Barnett's wife died in May 2022 after a battle with encephalitis.[32] Barnett and his late wife have a daughter and a son.[7]

Championships and accomplishments

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Gian Villante[16]
  • UFC.com Awards
    • 2021: Ranked #8 Knockout of the Year vs. Gian Villante[33]
• Island Fights
  • IF Super Heavyweight Championship (one time)
    • One successful title defense

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

32 matches	23 wins	9 losses
By knockout	18	4
By submission	0	1
By decision	5	4

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	23–9	Kennedy Nzechukwu	TKO (knee to the body and punches)	UFC 308	October 26, 2024	1	4:27	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win	23–8	Jake Collier	TKO (punches)	UFC 279	September 10, 2022	2	2:24	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Catchweight (267.5 lb) bout; Barnett missed weight.
Loss	22–8	Martin Buday	Technical Decision (unanimous)	UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2	April 16, 2022	3	1:37	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	An inadvertent elbow to the back of Barnett's head rendered him unable to continue.
Win	22–7	Gian Villante	TKO (spinning wheel kick and punches)	UFC 268	November 6, 2021	2	2:23	New York City, New York, United States	Performance of the Night.
Loss	21–7	Ben Rothwell	Submission (guillotine choke)	UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt	May 22, 2021	2	2:07	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Return to Heavyweight.
Win	21–6	Ahmed Tijani Shehu	TKO (punches)	UAE Warriors 13	September 25, 2020	1	0:58	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win	20–6	Rashaun Jackson	Decision (split)	Island Fights 60	October 10, 2019	3	5:00	Columbus, Georgia, United States	Heavyweight bout.
Win	19–6	Shim Yoon-jae	TKO (punch)	Road FC 055	September 8, 2019	1	3:44	Daegu, South Korea
Win	18–6	Robert Neal	Decision (unanimous)	Island Fights 52	February 7, 2019	3	5:00	Pensacola, Florida, United States	Heavyweight bout.
Win	17–6	Alexandru Lungu	TKO (punches)	Road FC 047	May 12, 2018	1	2:34	Beijing, China
Win	16–6	Shim Yoon-jae	TKO (spinning back kick)	Road FC 045	December 23, 2017	2	3:33	Seoul, South Korea
Loss	15–6	Alex Nicholson	KO (elbow)	Island Fights 42	October 14, 2017	1	0:40	Pensacola, Florida, United States	Heavyweight bout.
Loss	15–5	Myung Hyun-man	KO (punch)	Road FC 041	August 12, 2017	2	1:53	Wanju, South Korea
Loss	15–4	Myung Hyun-man	TKO (doctor stoppage)	Road FC 038	April 15, 2017	1	2:17	Seoul, South Korea
Win	15–3	Frank Tate	Decision (split)	Island Fights 39	November 18, 2016	3	5:00	Pensacola, Florida, United States	Heavyweight bout.
Loss	14–3	Kirill Sidelnikov	Decision (split)	Rizin 1	April 17, 2016	3	5:00	Nagoya, Japan
Win	14–2	Shinichi Suzukawa	TKO (punches)	Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2015	December 31, 2015	1	1:44	Sumida, Japan
Loss	13–2	Oli Thompson	Decision (unanimous)	Inoki Genome Fight 4	August 29, 2015	2	5:00	Sumida, Japan
Win	13–1	Emil Zahariev	KO (spinning back kick to the body)	Inoki Genome Fight 3	April 11, 2015	2	2:58	Sumida, Japan
Win	12–1	Shinichi Suzukawa	TKO (punches)	Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2014	December 31, 2014	1	1:57	Sumida, Japan
Win	11–1	Jon Hill	TKO (punches)	Island Fights 30	September 20, 2014	1	0:30	Pensacola, Florida, United States	Defended the Island Fights Super Heavyweight Championship.
Win	10–1	Travis Wiuff	TKO (punches)	Inoki Genome Fight 2	August 23, 2014	2	0:27	Sumida, Japan
Win	9–1	Richard White	TKO (punches)	Island Fights 28	May 9, 2014	1	4:57	Pensacola, Florida, United States	Won the vacant Island Fights Super Heavyweight Championship.
Win	8–1	Demoreo Dennis	TKO (punches)	Island Fights 27	February 8, 2014	2	1:13	Pensacola, Florida, United States	Super Heavyweight debut.
Win	7–1	Walt Harris	Decision (unanimous)	World Extreme Fighting 46	April 22, 2011	3	5:00	Orlando, Florida, United States
Win	6–1	Mario Rinaldi	TKO (punches)	XFC 13	December 3, 2010	2	1:44	Tampa, Florida, United States
Loss	5–1	Eric Prindle	Decision (majority)	Martial Combat 12	October 16, 2010	3	5:00	Sentosa, Singapore
Win	5–0	Jay White	KO (punches)	XFC 11	July 9, 2010	1	4:39	Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	4–0	Joel Wyatt	TKO (punches)	WCC 2	May 28, 2010	2	0:43	Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	3–0	Kenny Garner	TKO (punches)	XFC 10	March 19, 2010	3	1:36	Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	2–0	Daniel Perez	TKO (punches)	XFC 9	September 5, 2009	2	0:47	Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	1–0	Johnathan Ivey	Decision (unanimous)	XFC 8	April 25, 2009	3	5:00	Knoxville, Tennessee, United States	Heavyweight debut.

[5]

Submission grappling record

1 Matches, 0 Wins, 1 Losses, 0 Draws
Result	Rec.	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Division	Location
Loss	0–1	Yoel Romero	Submission (Kimura)	Dean Toole Promotions	June 15, 2019	Openweight	Pensacola, Florida

[34]

Professional boxing record

6 fights	2 wins	4 losses
By knockout	1	1
By decision	1	3

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
6	Win	2–4	Demarcus Kemp	UD	4, 3:00	Aug 13, 2016	Pensacola Bay Center, Pensacola, Florida, U.S.
5	Loss	1–4	Kenny Lacy	UD	4	June 1, 2012	A La Carte Event Pavilion, Tampa, Florida, U.S.
4	Loss	1–3	Trevor Bryan	KO	2 (4), 2:04	February 10, 2012	Community Center, Palm Bay, Florida, U.S.
3	Loss	1–2	Pedro Julio Rodriguez	UD	4	November 11, 2011	A La Carte Event Pavilion, Tampa, Florida, U.S.
2	Loss	1–1	Nathaniel James	UD	4	November 4, 2011	Ritz Theatre, Tampa, Florida, U.S.
1	Win	1–0	Michael Greeson	KO	2 (4), 2:12	Aug 12, 2011	DoubleTree Westshore Hotel, Tampa, Florida, U.S.

[10]

See also

• List of current UFC fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists

References

1. "Fight Path: For XFC's big man Chris Barnett, martial arts was a family affair". MMAjunkie.com. July 30, 2009.
2. "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. 13 May 2021.
3. "Insight: get to know Chris Barnett". Road Fighting Championship. April 6, 2017.
4. "Chris Barnett ("Beastboy") MMA Fighter Page". Tapology.
5. "Chris Barnett MMA Stats". Sherdog.
6. Jim Norton; Matt Serra (November 9, 2021). "UFC 268 Recap: Champion Rose Namajunas, Chris Barnett, and Chris Curtis" (Podcast).
7. Ariel Helwani (November 8, 2021). "Chris Barnett's Black-Belt Parents On Knockout: 'Literally, My Mom Yelled At Me' - MMA Fighting" – via YouTube.
8. "Fight Path: For XFC's big man Chris Barnett, martial arts was a family affair". 30 July 2009.
9. Jordy McElroy (November 25, 2014). "Chris 'Huggy Bear' Barnett: The Heavyweight You Should Be Talking About". BleacherReport.
10. "Chris Barnett". BoxRec. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
11. Farah Hannoun (May 13, 2021). "Ben Rothwell welcomes 'Beast Boy' Chris Barnett to the octagon at UFC Fight Night 188". MMAjunkie.com.
12. Shawn Bitter (May 22, 2021). "UFC Vegas 27 Results: Ben Rothwell Submits Debuting Chris Barnett". CageSidePress.
13. Shaun Al-Shatti (September 22, 2021). "UFC heavyweight Chris Barnett suspended, fined for marijuana despite NAC's rule change on the drug". mmafighting.com.
14. Steven Irvine (November 6, 2021). "Gian Villante loses UFC 268 retirement fight via crazy TKO (Video)". fansided.com.
15. Damon Martin (November 6, 2021). "UFC 268 video: Chris Barnett retires Gian Villante with spectacular spinning wheelkick knockout". MMAFighting.
16. Alexander K. Lee (November 7, 2021). "UFC 268 bonuses: Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler thriller leads night of six winners". mmafighting.com.
17. Mike Heck (January 24, 2022). "Chris Barnett set to return vs. Martin Buday at April 16 UFC event". mmafighting.com.
18. Bitter, Shawn (2022-04-16). "UFC Vegas 51: Injury, Foul Mars Martin Buday vs. Chris Barnett Heavyweight Fight". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
19. "UFC 279 adds Chris Barnett vs. Jake Collier heavyweight clash". MMA Junkie. 2022-07-26. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
20. Staff (2022-09-09). "UFC 279 weigh-in results: Disastrous session leads to fight card overhaul". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
21. "UFC 279 results, highlights: Chris Barnett rallies to TKO Jake Collier in heavyweight slugfest". CBSSports.com. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
22. ATSteveDuncan (2023-02-14). "Chris Barnett vs. Chase Sherman agregado a UFC 287". MMA.uno, #1 En noticias de Artes Marciales Mixtas (MMA) en Español. (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-15.
23. Sherdog.com. "Karl Williams Replaces Chris Barnett, Meets Chase Sherman at UFC 287". Sherdog. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
24. Navas, Julio Fernando (2024-01-16). "Mohammed Usman enfrenta a Chris Barnett en el UFC Vegas 88 - MMA AL DÍA" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-17.
25. "UFC Vegas 89 adds three new fights to lineup, but loses fan-favorite". MMA Junkie. 2024-01-31. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
26. Christopher De Santiago (2024-07-29). "UFC News: Fan-Favorite Chris Barnett Returns to Fight Top Heavyweight Prospect". si.com. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
27. Nolan King (2024-09-29). "Chris Barnett gets new opponent for UFC Fight Night 244". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
28. Brendan Bradford (2024-10-08). "Junior Tafa's reaction to Chris Barnett pulling out of this weekend's UFC". ntnews.com.au. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
29. Staff (2024-10-12). "Chris Barnett Gets New Booking, Faces Kennedy Nzechukwu at UFC 308". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
30. Brian Mazique (2024-10-21). "2 Changes To Massive UFC 308 Card Have Made The Event Even Better". forbes.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
31. Jay Anderson (2024-10-26). "UFC 308: Kennedy Nzechukwu Stops Hobbled Chris Barnett". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
32. Cole Shelton (2022-09-05). "Chris Barnett reveals 30 hours before Martin Buday fight he had to make a decision on his sick wife, thanks Dana White for calling and taking care of him". BJPenn.com. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
33. Thomas Gerbasi (December 21, 2021). "The 10 Best Knockouts Of 2021". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
34. Ryan Harkness (June 16, 2019). "Romero subs, Pettis and Masvidal draw in charity grappling fights". mmamania.com.

External links

• Professional MMA record for Chris Barnett from Sherdog
• Chris Barnett at UFC