Mirko Cro Cop Gives Pat Barry a Lesson in Mixed Martial Arts

In Mixed Martial Arts there are a lot of one-dimensional prospects who enter into the ring, the difference is that some adjust and can make a name and career for themselves, while others flounder under the pressure and never round out their game like they should. At UFC 115, Mirko Cro Cop was fighting what many had heralded as a "young Cro Cop" in Pat Barry. Barry is a fighter that comes from a similar background as Cro Cop, competing for K-1 before making the transition to Mixed Martial Arts. With a string of knockout victories, he was quickly snatched up by UFC who saw the potential in Barry to be another Cro Cop.

So in a way, this fight was the most perfect fight that UFC could book, and for Pat Barry's career it will have to be a turning point. To say that Pat Barry has a limited grappling game is to be kind, as the hesitation that Barry showed in the first round after scoring two knockdowns was confusing. Was Barry playing up the honor game and would only accept a knockout on his elder, or was he legitimately concerned about taking the fight to the ground even when his opponent was dazed? It really is impossible to know what Barry was thinking, but it is clear that after doing well in the first round, Barry fell apart in the second and third. 

Barry apparently suffered a broken right hand and right foot somewhere in the first round, and it isn't hard to imagine how, as he was throwing everything he had at Cro Cop without really setting up his shots or doing much in the way of timing. It had to be disheartening when Cro Cop immediately stood back up after the two knockdowns as well. Rounds two and three saw Cro Cop come out more aggressive and confident and exploiting Barry's weaknesses; the clinch and the ground game. Cro Cop was able to take down and dominate Barry for most of rounds two and three, as well as using his clinch against the cage to frustrate and damage Barry. 

The finish came in the third when Cro Cop was able to connect with a few flurries and Barry went down hard, grasping onto Cro Cop who was laying into him with hammerfists. Yves Lavigne, criticized for an early stoppage earlier in the night was doing anything except stopping the fight, so Cro Cop decided to take matters into his own hands and applied a rear naked choke, which on a dazed Barry was enough to get him to submit. 

If Barry truly looks up to Cro Cop, he has to take a long hard look at how Cro Cop defeated him, and the lesson that Cro Cop taught him. Cro Cop was once the young kickboxing prospect knocking out lower level opponents, but he had to learn the ground game in a hurry if he wanted to hang on the elite level. UFC gave Barry a fight against a pure striker and it ended with him being submitted. It might be time to take jiu-jitsu and wrestling a bit more seriously.

SBN coverage of UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin