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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
While he's recovering from a broken hand and foot suffered in his UFC 115 fight with Mirko Cro Cop in June, Pat Barry is getting ready to improve his game this fall with trips to Croatia and Minnesota.
"I’m talking to Cro Cop. Brock Lesnar wants me to come and be his sparring partner,” Barry said to Cage Radio on USCombatSports.com. “You can’t write this man, this isn’t even a dream. This is just all around fabulous. I’m just going to keep riding with it, man, and keep screaming thank you out the window to somebody.”
Barry brought an impressive kickboxing record with him into MMA, but his ground game has remained a weakness in his game. With a chance to work with UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar ahead of his title fight with Cain Velasquez in October, Barry will be able to work with some big heavyweight wrestlers while providing a serious sparring partner for Lesnar.
"Brock Lesnar has asked for me to come and be his sparring partner for a month before he fights Cain Velasquez,” said Barry. “How cool is that... A month with the heavyweight champion of the universe Brock Lesnar, the biggest scariest dude on earth, and then a month with a legendary striker like Cro Cop.”
Heading to work with Cro Cop after facing him in June, Barry also revealed that the Croatian superstar has plans to fight again in November, despite talk that he may retire.
"Even Dana White said that Cro Cop is not your friend, you know what, I’ve spoken to that dude (Filipovic) like every other day since the fight. He’s called from Croatia to see what’s going on and how my healing's coming... Something that is really cool and that no one really knows about, Cro Cop says he might fight again in November. And [Filipovic] says as soon as my hand is healed, he would like to fly me to Croatia for a month to come and be his sparring partner.
“He said, you are faster than I am and you hit harder than I do, or something like that, but I could tell that when we grabbed each other, he’s like I could tell you weren’t very strong. Like you haven’t been wrestling with guys bigger than you or stronger than you... So I’ve got a lot of giant serial killer Croatian guys out here, that are wrestlers that I could throw at you... But I would really like you to come out here and be my sparring partner for my next fight."
The excited Barry doesn't have a fight set up for himself just yet, but he's just happy for the opportunities presenting themselves.
"These two guys have recognized and see something in me that they feel can help them get better, and that’s amazing,” said Barry. “I get to see what it’s like to be with the big guy, the heavyweight champ, and to train with Cro Cop, that’s cool man."
Penick's Analysis: This actually makes a lot of sense for all parties involved. Cro Cop and Barry clearly had a bonding experience with their fight at UFC 115, and for Barry getting a chance to train with his hero would be a no brainer. As for Lesnar, while he's worked with some behemoth wrestlers, he hasn't really had a great striker to work with in camp. Barry can provide an extremely hard hitting sparring partner that will be of great help in preparation for the Velasquez fight. And for Barry, he'll get some time in during both camps with some real big wrestlers who can help him improve that aspect of his game immensely.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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