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

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competes in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division of the

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

(UFC).

Background

Barnett was born in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, Spain, where his father was stationed as a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

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 South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Both of his parents are black belts in

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

, 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 ...

and

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

and graduated with a bachelor's degree. At Campbellsville, Barnett competed in

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

on a scholarship and began training in

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, 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 Encyc ...

. 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 (stylised in all caps and also known as Rizin FF) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. ...

Road Fighting Championship Road Fighting Championship (Road FC; ) is a South Korean-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which was officially launched in 2010. Prior to December 2016, Road FC had held 52 events in three countries - South Korea, Japan, and China. Abou ...

, and

Inoki Genome Federation The (IGF), also known in China as International Glory Fighting, was a Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotion founded by Antonio Inoki in 2007. History Antonio Inoki founded the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) after se ...

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 TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

to replace Askar Mozharov on short notice against

Ben Rothwell Ben Rothwell (born October 17, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer who competes as a Heavyweight and is the current BKFC Heavyweight World Champion. He most notably had a 17 bout stint in the Ultimate Fighting C ...

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 in Villante's retirement fight at UFC 268 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 Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. 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 promotional newcomer 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 arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division and competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background With no background in ...

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 went 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. Barnett was scheduled to face

Chase Sherman Chase Sherman (born November 16, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former bare-knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2014, he has competed for the UFC and Titan FC. Background Born and raised in D'Ibervi ...

on April 8, 2023, at UFC 287. However, Barnett pulled out due to undisclosed reasons in early April and was replaced by Karl Williams. Barnett was scheduled to face Mohammed Usman on March 23, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 53. However, Barnett withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by Mick Parkin. Barnett was scheduled to face Waldo Cortes-Acosta on October 12, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 244. However, Cortes-Acosta withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by

Junior Tafa Pascall Saumani Milo (born 21 September 1996), known as Junior Tafa, is an Australian mixed martial artist, former professional kickboxer and boxer who currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). ...

. Subsequently, Barnett withdrew after being unable to travel due to

Hurricane Milton Hurricane Milton was an extremely powerful and destructive tropical cyclone which in 2024 became the most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded over the Gulf of Mexico, tying with Hurricane Rita in 2005. Milton made landfall on the west coa ...

and was replaced by UFC newcomer Sean Sharaf. Replacing an injured Justin Tafa, Barnett was scheduled to face Kennedy Nzechukwu on October 26, 2024 at UFC 308. Barnett lost the fight by technical knockout in the first round.

Personal life

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

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

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

Championships and accomplishments

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

Yahoo! Sports Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from Stats Perform. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. ...

**2021 Knockout of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 23–9 , Kennedy Nzechukwu , TKO (knee to the body and punches) , UFC 308 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:27 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 23–8 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

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

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, 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 , Gian Villante , TKO (spinning wheel kick and punches) , UFC 268 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:23 ,

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, 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 ,

, 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 (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–6 , Shim Yoon-jae , TKO (punch) , Road FC 055 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:44 ,

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

, 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 a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–6 , Alexandru Lungu , TKO (punches) , Road FC 047 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:34 ,

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 16–6 , Shim Yoon-jae , TKO (spinning back kick) , Road FC 045 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:33 ,

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, 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 , Myung Hyun-man , KO (punch) , Road FC 041 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:53 ,

Wanju Wanju County (, ) is a List of counties of South Korea, county in North Jeolla province, South Korea. It almost entirely surrounds the city of Jeonju. History Ancient In the Three Han period it was part of the Mahan confederacy, and in 555 (Wide ...

, South Korea , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–4 , Myung Hyun-man , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Road FC 038 , , 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 of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 , Shinichi Suzukawa , TKO (punches) , Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2015 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:44 , Sumida, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–2 ,

Oli Thompson Oliver Thompson (born 2 January 1980) is an English mixed martial artist and retired strongman. Thompson currently competes in MMA’s heavyweight division. He has previously competed for major organisations such as UFC, Bell ...

, 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 , Shinichi Suzukawa , 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 Wiuff (born March 15, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist competing in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2001 and List of mixed martial artists with the most sanctioned fights, veteran of o ...

, 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 and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, 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. Tampa'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 t ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 , Eric Prindle , Decision (majority) , Martial Combat 12 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sentosa Sentosa Island ( ), known mononymously as Sentosa, 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 Keppel Harbour, and is adjacent to ...

, 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 eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, 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 Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, 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 who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate ...

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

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

, 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 , , 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 mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters