Christopher James Barnett (born June 14, 1986) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competes in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Background

Barnett was born in

Zaragoza, Spain Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

, where his father was stationed as a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

captain. Around the age of four, the family returned to the United States and after bouncing around they settled in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Both of his parents are black belts in

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

, and he started training the martial art around the age of five. Barnett went to

Campbellsville University Campbellsville University (CU) is a private Christian university in Campbellsville, Kentucky. It was founded as Russell Creek Academy and enrolls more than 12,000 students. The university offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. In 2 ...

and

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree. At Campbellsville, Barnett competed in

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

on a scholarship and began training in

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

. Barnett received an invitation to try out mixed martial arts after showing his moves in a dance battle, and started training immediately.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Starting his professional career in 2009, Barnett fought primarily in

Xtreme Fighting Championships Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) is a premier international mixed martial arts (MMA) organization based in Spring Lake, Michigan, with offices throughout the United States and South America. The XFC showcases both male and female fighters, ad ...

and started 5–0 with four knockouts. He also fought in other notable Asian organizations, such as

Rizin Fighting Federation Rizin Fighting Federation (Rizin FF or Rizin) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. Rizin was founded to be the spir ...

Road Fighting Championship Road Fighting Championship (Road FC; ) is a South Korean-based mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is ...

, and

Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) was a Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotion founded by Antonio Inoki in 2007. History Antonio Inoki left New Japan Pro-Wrestling, a promotion he founded in 1972, to start the IGF. The first IGF show was held on J ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After 12 years, Barnett finally got a call from the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

to replace Askar Mozharov on short notice against

Ben Rothwell Ben Rothwell (born October 17, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a Heavyweight. He most notably had a 17 bout stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and competed for the Quad Cities Silverbacks of the IFL where he h ...

at UFC Fight Night 188 on May 22, 2021. He lost the bout by submission in the second round. 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. In his next fight, Barnett fought

Gian Villante Gianpiero Villante (born August 18, 1985) is a retired American mixed martial artist who previously fought in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional from 2009 to 2021, he also has competed for Strikeforce ...

in Villante's retirement fight at

UFC 268 ''UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 6, 2021, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Background A UFC Welterwe ...

on November 6, 2021 in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

. He won the fight by technical knockout in the second round via spinning wheel kick and punches. The win earned him the ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Barnett next faced Martin Buday at

UFC Fight Night 206 ''UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Vieira'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 206'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 64'' or ''UFC Vegas 55'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 21, 2022, at the UFC Apex f ...

on April 16, 2022. 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. Barnett most recently faced

Jake Collier Jake Collier (born October 23, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background With no background in sports, Collier started Brazilian jiu-jitsu to lose weight ...

on September 10, 2022 at

UFC 279 ''UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. 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 will go to his opponent Collier. 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.

Personal life

Barnett's wife died in May of 2022 after a battle with

encephalitis Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain. The severity can be variable with symptoms including reduction or alteration in consciousness, headache, fever, confusion, a stiff neck, and vomiting. Complications may include seizures, hallucinations, ...

. Barnett and his late wife have a daughter and a son.

Championships and accomplishments

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(one time) vs.

*Island Fights **IF Super Heavyweight Championship (one time) ***One successful title defense

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 23–8 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:24 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–8 , Martin Buday , Technical Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:37 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 22–7 ,

, TKO (spinning wheel kick and punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:23 ,

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–7 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:07 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–6 , Ahmed Tijani Shehu , TKO (punches) , UAE Warriors 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:58 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 20–6 , Rashaun Jackson , Decision (split) , Island Fights 60 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–6 , Yoon Jae Shim , KO (punch) ,

Road FC 55 The year 2019 is the 10th year in the history of the Road Fighting Championship, a mma promotion based in South Korea. 2019 starts with Road FC 052. Road FC $1 Million Dollar Lightweight Tournament 'Road To A-Sol' Bracket List of events ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:44 ,

Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 18–6 , Robert Neal , Decision (unanimous) , Island Fights 52 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–6 , Alexandru Lungu , TKO (punches) , Road FC 47 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:34 ,

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 16–6 , Yoon Jae Shim , TKO (punches) , Road FC 45 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:33 ,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, South Korea , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 , Alex Nicholson , KO (elbow) , Island Fights 42 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–5 , Hyun Man Myung , KO (punch) , Road FC 41 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:53 ,

Wanju Wanju County (''Wanju-gun'') is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, county in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It almost entirely surrounds Jeonju. This county should not be confused with Wonju, in Gangwon-do. History ○ Mahan Baekje ...

, South Korea , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–4 , Hyun Man Myung , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Road FC 38 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:17 ,

, South Korea , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 , Frank Tate , Decision (split) , Island Fights 39 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–3 , Kirill Sidelnikov , Decision (split) , Rizin 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 ,

Shinichi Suzukawa , born September 21, 1983 as , is a former sumo wrestler from Hyōgo prefecture in Japan. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 9. He was thrown out of the sport in February 2009 in sumo, 2009 after being arrested for cannabis (drug), cannabis posses ...

, TKO (punches) , Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2015 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:44 , Sumida, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–2 ,

Oli Thompson Oli or OLI may refer to: Places * Oli-ye Jonubi, a village in Bushehr Province, Iran * Oli-ye Shomali, a village in Bushehr Province, Iran People * Óli, a Faroese and Icelandic given name * Oliver (given name), nickname * Oli (footballer), a ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Inoki Genome Fight 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Sumida, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 , Emil Zahariev , KO (spinning back kick to the body) , Inoki Genome Fight 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:58 , Sumida, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2014 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 , Sumida, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Jon Hill , TKO (punches) , Island Fights 30 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:30 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 ,

Travis Wiuff Travis James Wiuff (born March 15, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2001 and a longtime veteran of the sport, Wiuff has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Bellat ...

, TKO (punches) , Inoki Genome Fight 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:27 , Sumida, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Richard White , TKO (punches) , Island Fights 28 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:57 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Demoreo Dennis , TKO (punches) , Island Fights 27 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:13 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Walt Harris , Decision (unanimous) , World Extreme Fighting 46 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Mario Rinaldi , TKO (punches) , XFC 13 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:44 ,

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 ,

Eric Prindle Eric Prindle (born August 30, 1976) is an American Heavyweight mixed martial artist who last competed in 2018. A professional competitor since 2008 he has fought in Bellator MMA and Pancrase, and was the Bellator Season Five Heavyweight Tourname ...

, Decision (majority) , Martial Combat 12 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sentosa Sentosa Island, known mononymously as Sentosa, and formerly ''Pulau Belakang Mati'', is an island located off the southern coast of Singapore's main island. The island is separated from the main island of Singapore by a channel of water, the K ...

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Jay White , KO (punches) , XFC 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:39 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Joel Wyatt , TKO (punches) , WCC 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:43 ,

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Kenny Garner , TKO (punches) , XFC 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:36 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Daniel Perez , TKO (punches) , XFC 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:47 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Johnathan Ivey , Decision (unanimous) , XFC 8 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

, United States ,

Submission grappling record

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:80%; text-align:left;" , - , colspan=8 style="text-align:center;" , 1 Matches, 0 Wins, 1 Losses, 0 Draws , - ! Result ! Rec. ! Opponent ! Method ! text-center, Event ! Date ! Division ! Location , - , Loss , , align=center, 0–1, ,

Yoel Romero Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for Bellator MMA. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight division ...

, , Submission (Kimura) , , rowspan=2, Dean Toole Promotions , , rowspan=2, June 15, 2019 , , Openweight , , rowspan=2,

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

, Florida

Professional boxing record

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" , - ! !Result !Record !Opponent !Type !Round, time !Date !Location !Notes , - , 6 , Win , 2–4 , style="text-align:left;", Demarcus Kemp , , 4, 3:00 , Aug 13, 2016 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 5 , Loss , 1–4 , style="text-align:left;", Kenny Lacy , , 4 , June 1, 2012 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 4 , Loss , 1–3 , style="text-align:left;",

Trevor Bryan Trevor Cosmo Bryan Jr (born August 23, 1989) is an American professional boxer and former WBA (Regular) heavyweight Champion. Early life Trevor Bryan was born on August 23, 1989 in Albany, New York. He began boxing at the age of 11, and had a ...

, , 2 (4), , February 10, 2012 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 3 , Loss , 1–2 , style="text-align:left;", Pedro Julio Rodriguez , , 4 , November 11, 2011 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 2 , Loss , 1–1 , style="text-align:left;", Nathaniel James , , 4 , November 4, 2011 , style="text-align:left;", , , - , 1 , Win , 1–0 , style="text-align:left;", Michael Greeson , , 2 (4), , Aug 12, 2011 , style="text-align:left;", ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnett, Chris 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Zaragoza American male boxers African-American boxers Boxers from Florida Mixed martial artists from Florida Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing judo American male taekwondo practitioners American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American male judoka American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters