Less than a week after walking away from mixed martial arts, Pat Barry has found his new combat sports home.
Barry appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA hour and confirmed that has signed a two-fight deal with kickboxing powerhouse GLORY. He will be making his debut with the promotion this May against a currently unknown opponent. Before making his GLORY debut, Barry will make his official return to kickboxing against Ed Burris at an American Kickboxing Association event on March 22nd.
The news of Barry’s return to kickboxing is not surprising. When Barry announced his leave from MMA he hinted that he “just wanted to hit somebody.” When speaking to Helwani, Barry stated that he realized that he knew he was done with MMA in the early moments of his last bout with Soa Palelei, “As soon as Soa went for the first takedown…in my head it was instant…it took a lot for me to not just push him to the side, wave my hand, and say whatever.”
1ST KICKBOXING FIGHT SINCE 2007 WILL BE MARCH 22 IN RICHMOND VA AT WKA THEN GLORY IN MAYYYY!!!! @BrianWKA @BrianButler_au @SuckerPunchEnt
— Pat Barry (@HypeOrDie) February 3, 2014
Barry’s contract with GLORY is easily the best thing for him. Fighting in low-level promotions for a small amount of money is far from desirable. Barry’s return to kickboxing will be on march 22nd in Richmond, Virginia for the WKA in what seems like a tune-up bout to reacclimatize him with the sport. GLORY provides “HD” with the opportunity to fight for top dollar against high quality opponents on a big stage. If Barry is able to find success with GLORY it would also help the promotion grow its audience. The number of viewers for GLORY has been steadily rising and the addition of a bonafied UFC star like Barry will only attract more eyeballs.
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