UFC 104 Barry interview: Learning on the job, is he ready?

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October 23, 2009

The dude has a vicious reputation as a striker but he is trying to learn the rest of the mixed martial arts game on the quick. We’re not talking about Kimbo Slice. It’s kickboxer extraordinaire Pat Barry. Barry, 30, is making the transition from an exclusive stand-up fighter to a guy who needs to add ground skills and submission defense. He failed terribly at UFC 98 when Tim Hague slapped on a guillotine choke to finish the fight. Barry is taking his lumps in the gym:

"I’ve been sticking with it," Barry told Cagewriter. "The more I get submitted, the more I get taken down, the more I get smashed around, the better I get."

Barry said his ground and submission defense skills are better than people think, he just panicked in the fight against Hague. The key is staying relaxed when things get dangerous.

Barry (4-1, 1-1 UFC) faces UFC veteran and old friend in Antoni Hardonk (8-5, 3-3 UFC). They were training partners for four years in Amsterdam. Fighting a friend won’t be a problem:

"I don’t mind that we’re friends. Who would you be more intimidated getting in the ring versus, some big guy you’ve never seen before? Or you’re younger brother? The nerves still there but I feel more comfortable getting in there against someone I know."

Barry told Fight! Magazine it’s not all fun and games. There is a personal battle in his fight against Hardonk, who is a protege of K-1 legend Ernesto Hoost:

"It’s Ernesto and I that have a beef and it’s an absurd little kid beef, I don’t even know what the problem, is. Dude just didn’t give a [expletive] about me, he didn’t care man. I was like hey, I’m leaving man and he was like, ‘so.’ I was like wow after five years and all you say is, ‘so,’ you don’t give a [expletive] about me at all man. That’s a good thing, if it weren’t for him I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now, if it weren’t for him I would not be at where I’m at now, man."

Barry said he’s representing himself and his new MMA mentor Duke Roufus:

"This is not just a fight this is not just a fight between me and Antoni, no, no, no, no,” said Barry. “This is a fight between me and Duke (Roufus) versus Antoni and Ernesto (Hoost), I like to look at it like that."

The Barry-Hardonk fight will be featured during Spike’s UFC 104 freeview leading in the pay-per-view.

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