Welterweight fighter Bryan Barberena notched a significant win on Saturday at UFC Columbus with a decision victory over beloved veteran Matt Brown. And according to the 32-year-old, it was also the last fight in his UFC contract.
During the post-fight media scrum, “Bam Bam” called for a “talk” with UFC president Dana White to try and strike a new deal. But if the organization decides to go the opposite direction, Barberena says he will likely hang up his gloves for good.
“This is the last fight on my contract. I haven’t been open about that, but this is the last fight on my contract. UFC didn’t say anything about renegotiating, I tried to ask about it,” Barberena told reporters.
“Dana White, let’s talk. I’d love to keep fighting, I’d love to keep putting on shows. I don’t want to fight anywhere else. If this is it, you don’t want me no more, that’s OK. I’ll hang ‘em up here.
“I should’ve left my gloves in the Octagon if that’s the case. But if not, I’d love to keep putting on shows.”
Barberena says he is sure of his decision after talking about it with his wife.
“I’d be done,” he said. “Me and my wife talked about this a lot. UFC’s where I wanna be. It was the goal the whole time. I love being here, they treat me well. I love being in front of these fans.
“It’s the biggest organization out there, the best organization out there, as far as I’m concerned. And if they don’t want me to come out and put on shows anymore, I’ll hang ‘em up. And I’ll go spend my daily at the farm with the family and work on building that.”
Barberena (17-8) also holds wins over the likes of Jake Ellenberger and Sage Northcutt. In November 2020, he suffered internal bleeding in his abdomen, forcing him out of his UFC Vegas 14 fight against Daniel Rodriguez.
The win over Brown earned Barberena a $50K bonus for Fight of the Night, his fourth overall in his eight-year UFC run.
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