UFC's Patrick Barry recounts pre-fight jitters and in-cage destruction
In the moments leading up to the fight, the mental focus and determination of a mixed martial artist must be that of a warrior preparing for battle -- a gladiator readying himself for the arena.
Right?
"I get nervous before every fight," UFC heavyweight patrick Barry told TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "They're always looking for me in the back. I'm always hiding in the bathroom somewhere, either throwing up, crying on the phone with my mom, just anything."
Barry, a K-1 veteran who made a successful octagon debut against Dan Evensen at UFC 92, said he is nervous before every fight. But never was he as concerned as the moments leading up to his card-opening performance for the UFC.
"That was the most nervous I've ever been for any fight I've ever had," Barry said. "The nervousness, it's there no matter what fight it is. All the time. And I think it's necessary, also. I need to have that with me."
Barry admitted that second thoughts ran through his mind in the final moments before the opening bell.
"It's always before the bout that you start having doubts," Barry said. "You're sitting there in the back locker room with all the other guys. And for me, I go back and forth. And all of a sudden I go from being completely confident to thinking, 'Man, what are you doing out here?' I keep going back and forth. That's why I'll call my mom or I'll call my brother, and I'll just have them talking to me."
Barry said he continued to experience an entire range of emotions on his way to the cage.
"The shakes are just insane," Barry said. "And then when they announce your name, it all goes away. I was walking down to the cage and I was high-fiving everybody. That was the greatest party I had ever been to. It was awesome.
"Then I got in the cage, and I was all ready because of all the work.
"Then I had to stand there for like five, six, seven minutes while [Evensen] walked in. While I was standing there I started thinking, 'Oh, man. This is a bad idea. This guy is getting bigger and bigger as he gets closer to the cage.' He's getting taller. I think he's cheating. His tattoo was awesome. It was like a roller coaster going down a big drop. It's a sick feeling, but it's a great feeling at the same time."
And just as Barry's confidence quickly grew on the way to the cage, it waned as he waited for Evensen to enter.
"When you're standing in there as the guy that's about to be one side of it, it's like it took him an hour to get into the ring," Barry said. "When he finally got into the ring, I was like, 'Alright, this isn't so bad.'
"But then you see the cameraman walk out. He leaves the ring. Then you see Bruce Buffer walking out of the ring, too, and it's like, 'Oh, man. Don't leave just yet. Keep talking on the microphone.'"
Barry believes that many fighters experience the same range of emotions in the moments before the bout. While he refuses to speak for anyone but himself, Barry said those wild mood swings stop when the opening bell rings.
"I can only say me, but getting hit is painful," Barry said. "It hurts. It's a scary thing. Not only is this physically painful, but it's a mental war. There's so much at stake.
"Once the bell rings, generally all that goes away. But beforehand, if you're not having jitters or shaky feelings then I don't think you're ready."
If Barry's shakes didn't go away when the action started, it was difficult to tell. Barry chopped down his larger opponent with pinpoint striking and devastating leg kicks. One early blow caused extensive damage to his opponent's knee -- damage that would eventually cause the end of the bout.
"I knew it was a really hard shot," Barry said. "Because I've been kicking people in the leg ever since the beginning of my career. I haven't been submitting people or slamming them on their backs. I've been hitting people.
"I've been punching and kicking people for six years now, since I started kickboxing. I've gotten to the point that I've thrown so many low kicks that I can tell. When I can feel my shin make contact with someone's leg, I can tell whether that was a good kick or not. And you don't have to make a facial expression. I know when it's a good one.
"And it hit him, and I was like, 'Oh, his leg bent a little bit further than it was supposed to.'"
While Barry is an admitted fan of the devastating knockout, the 29-year-old sees a special significance in breaking your opponent's will.
"I look at like this: If you kick somebody in the head -- or if you punch somebody in the head -- and you knock them out, there's nothing that they can do about it," Barry said. "They're out. And it's always impressive and the crowd loves to see that. That is the big game-ender. But there's something that is subtly powerful about hitting somebody so hard that you kick their heart out of their chest.
"You get knocked out unconscious, there's nothing you can do about it. If you get hit hard, but the doctor stops the fight, there's nothing that can be done. But when can do something to someone that scares them into not wanting to be there anymore, there's a very powerful undertone to that.
"I hit him, and you could just see it in his head. He went, 'Oh, man. We don't have to do this anymore. I'm good. Thanks for having me. I'm going to go home now.'"
Barry made an immediate impact on the UFC's heavyweight division with his impressive performance. But while the striking expert would most certainly be overwhelmed at this early stage in his MMA career if he was matched with a ground-specialist, Barry is completely aware of where he stands in the development of his complete game.
"I'm not just a competitor," Barry said. "I'm a fan of the sport, also. If I go off of what I find attractive and what I like, I like to see guys bang it out. I like to see the knockout. Submissions are awesome, too. But I think if I had to choose between watching someone get arm-barred or watching someone get kicked in the face, I would rather see someone get kicked in the head. That's like the homerun of knockouts.
"I'm also five-and-a-half months into wrestling and jiu-jitsu. It would be cool if we didn't go to the ground for a while."
In the moments leading up to the fight, the mental focus and determination of a mixed martial artist must be that of a warrior preparing for battle -- a gladiator readying himself for the arena.
Right?
"I get nervous before every fight," UFC heavyweight patrick Barry told TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "They're always looking for me in the back. I'm always hiding in the bathroom somewhere, either throwing up, crying on the phone with my mom, just anything."
Barry, a K-1 veteran who made a successful octagon debut against Dan Evensen at UFC 92, said he is nervous before every fight. But never was he as concerned as the moments leading up to his card-opening performance for the UFC.
"That was the most nervous I've ever been for any fight I've ever had," Barry said. "The nervousness, it's there no matter what fight it is. All the time. And I think it's necessary, also. I need to have that with me."
Barry admitted that second thoughts ran through his mind in the final moments before the opening bell.
"It's always before the bout that you start having doubts," Barry said. "You're sitting there in the back locker room with all the other guys. And for me, I go back and forth. And all of a sudden I go from being completely confident to thinking, 'Man, what are you doing out here?' I keep going back and forth. That's why I'll call my mom or I'll call my brother, and I'll just have them talking to me."
Barry said he continued to experience an entire range of emotions on his way to the cage.
"The shakes are just insane," Barry said. "And then when they announce your name, it all goes away. I was walking down to the cage and I was high-fiving everybody. That was the greatest party I had ever been to. It was awesome.
"Then I got in the cage, and I was all ready because of all the work.
"Then I had to stand there for like five, six, seven minutes while [Evensen] walked in. While I was standing there I started thinking, 'Oh, man. This is a bad idea. This guy is getting bigger and bigger as he gets closer to the cage.' He's getting taller. I think he's cheating. His tattoo was awesome. It was like a roller coaster going down a big drop. It's a sick feeling, but it's a great feeling at the same time."
And just as Barry's confidence quickly grew on the way to the cage, it waned as he waited for Evensen to enter.
"When you're standing in there as the guy that's about to be one side of it, it's like it took him an hour to get into the ring," Barry said. "When he finally got into the ring, I was like, 'Alright, this isn't so bad.'
"But then you see the cameraman walk out. He leaves the ring. Then you see Bruce Buffer walking out of the ring, too, and it's like, 'Oh, man. Don't leave just yet. Keep talking on the microphone.'"
Barry believes that many fighters experience the same range of emotions in the moments before the bout. While he refuses to speak for anyone but himself, Barry said those wild mood swings stop when the opening bell rings.
"I can only say me, but getting hit is painful," Barry said. "It hurts. It's a scary thing. Not only is this physically painful, but it's a mental war. There's so much at stake.
"Once the bell rings, generally all that goes away. But beforehand, if you're not having jitters or shaky feelings then I don't think you're ready."
If Barry's shakes didn't go away when the action started, it was difficult to tell. Barry chopped down his larger opponent with pinpoint striking and devastating leg kicks. One early blow caused extensive damage to his opponent's knee -- damage that would eventually cause the end of the bout.
"I knew it was a really hard shot," Barry said. "Because I've been kicking people in the leg ever since the beginning of my career. I haven't been submitting people or slamming them on their backs. I've been hitting people.
"I've been punching and kicking people for six years now, since I started kickboxing. I've gotten to the point that I've thrown so many low kicks that I can tell. When I can feel my shin make contact with someone's leg, I can tell whether that was a good kick or not. And you don't have to make a facial expression. I know when it's a good one.
"And it hit him, and I was like, 'Oh, his leg bent a little bit further than it was supposed to.'"
While Barry is an admitted fan of the devastating knockout, the 29-year-old sees a special significance in breaking your opponent's will.
"I look at like this: If you kick somebody in the head -- or if you punch somebody in the head -- and you knock them out, there's nothing that they can do about it," Barry said. "They're out. And it's always impressive and the crowd loves to see that. That is the big game-ender. But there's something that is subtly powerful about hitting somebody so hard that you kick their heart out of their chest.
"You get knocked out unconscious, there's nothing you can do about it. If you get hit hard, but the doctor stops the fight, there's nothing that can be done. But when can do something to someone that scares them into not wanting to be there anymore, there's a very powerful undertone to that.
"I hit him, and you could just see it in his head. He went, 'Oh, man. We don't have to do this anymore. I'm good. Thanks for having me. I'm going to go home now.'"
Barry made an immediate impact on the UFC's heavyweight division with his impressive performance. But while the striking expert would most certainly be overwhelmed at this early stage in his MMA career if he was matched with a ground-specialist, Barry is completely aware of where he stands in the development of his complete game.
"I'm not just a competitor," Barry said. "I'm a fan of the sport, also. If I go off of what I find attractive and what I like, I like to see guys bang it out. I like to see the knockout. Submissions are awesome, too. But I think if I had to choose between watching someone get arm-barred or watching someone get kicked in the face, I would rather see someone get kicked in the head. That's like the homerun of knockouts.
"I'm also five-and-a-half months into wrestling and jiu-jitsu. It would be cool if we didn't go to the ground for a while."