UFC on FX 1 Results: 5 Fights for Pat Barry to Take Next

After losing two straight fights, Pat Barry needed to beat Christian Morecraft just to feel safe about keeping his job.

While some fighters play it safe in those situations, Barry did quite the opposite and went after the bigger Morecraft, earning the first round knockout win and the kick boxer even showed off some ground skills prior to the finish.

It was a huge victory for Barry to become relevant in the UFC’s heavyweight division, but now that he has gotten back into the win column, a whole new batch of opponents are available for Barry to try and brutalize.

Shane Carwin

The former UFC interim heavyweight champion has gone through a rough couple of years, bouncing between injuries and losses since July of 2010.

After getting beaten and battered by Junior dos Santos at UFC 131 last summer, Carwin has now lost two in a row, and after being sidelined from both training and the Octagon for much of the past year, he probably won’t be thrown to the wolves in his return.

This is likely where Barry comes in, as the UFC knows he would give Carwin a strong test, and he always puts on an exciting performance.

A win for Barry would be career changing and would move him into the upper echelon of the division.

Gabriel Gonzaga

Gabriel Gonzaga returned to the UFC earlier this month at UFC 142, and after looking mediocre in his last few Octagon fights before he was cut, Gonzaga came out like a wrecking ball and submitted his opponent inside the first round.

Now looking to breathe new life into his career, a matchup with a guy like Pat Barry would be perfect for Gonzaga.

“Napao” has been known to get sucked into striking battles with guys who are much better than him on their feet, but his ground game is light years ahead of Barry’s, so as long as he fights smart he could have an advantage.

This fight would show if Gonzaga’s mental game has improved since his last UFC run, as well as test Barry’s newfound ground game.

Cheick Kongo

A rematch of one of the greatest fights of 2011, Cheick Kongo was pushed to the limit by Barry in their main event fight on Versus, where Barry knocked down the Wolfslair based fighter over and over again but could not get the finish.

In the midst of Kongo rolling around on the floor trying to avoid Barry’s finishing punches, he ended up backed up against the cage and threw a nasty uppercut of his own, causing Barry to be knocked completely out cold.

It was one of the most incredible comebacks in MMA history, and one can’t help but wonder what would happen in a rematch between these two.

Kongo is set to fight Mark Hunt at UFC 144, but win or lose a fight with Barry should be next on his agenda.

Brendan Schaub

After suffering the first loss of his career, Brendan Schaub is back in the middle of the pack in the heavyweight division and has been actively seeking a fight for months now.

After beating Gabriel Gonzaga and destroying Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Schaub was thought to be an up-and-coming title contender in the heavyweight division before being knocked out by Minotauro Nogueira in front of the Brazilian’s countrymen in Rio.

Now Schaub is stuck trying to pick up the pieces that Nogueira smashed of his promising career, and a fight with Barry is exactly what he needs to prove that he belongs in the upper echelon of the division.

A win for Barry pushes him into a high profile opponent as well, so I doubt he’d have any problem signing off on it.

Matt Mitrione

Going from one of the most hated fighters in Ultimate Fighter history to one of the most beloved fighters in the heavyweight division makes almost no sense, but Matt Mitrione is a weird guy anyway.

Mitrione used the show to take him to the UFC and once he showed up he made the most of it, earning wins in his first five Octagon appearances before losing a decision to Cheick Kongo at UFC 137.

Now looking to get back in the win column, a fight against Barry would be a solid test for Mitrione, but as the two have trained together in the past and seem to have a pretty good relationship, it could make a fight between them even more entertaining.