If this was indeed it for Bryan
Barberena, at least he went out with a bang.
Barberena’s split-decision triumph over Matt Brown at
UFC on ESPN 33 received “Fight of the Night” honors on Saturday, a
fitting recognition for two athletes who have been known to deliver
action in their bouts.
At Saturday’s post-fight press conference, Barberena revealed that
he completed the last fight on his current UFC contract. The
32-year-old MMA Lab representative has won three of his last four
Octagon appearances and is 8-6 during his promotional tenure
overall. If the UFC is not interesting in re-signing him, Barberena
would rather hang up the four-ounce gloves than take his talents
elsewhere.
“I’m really glad [the Brown fight] happened because this is the
last fight on my contract,” Barberena said. “I haven’t been open
about that, but this is the last fight on my contract. The UFC
didn’t say anything about renegotiating. I tried to ask about
it.
“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 okay, I’ll hang ‘em up
here. I should have left my gloves in the octagon if that’s the
case. If not, I’d love to keep putting on shows.”
If he does get a new deal with the Las Vegas-based organization,
Barberena would like to continue to pursue entertaining stylistic
pairings – including one against a former UFC welterweight
champion.
“Honestly, the next person I’d love to fight would be Robbie
Lawler,” Barberena said. “I think that would be an awesome
matchup. I’d love to test myself against him. He’s one of those
guys who brings it and I’m a fan of him.
“There’s tons of other matchups out there, guys who come to throw
down and bring it so I think there’s definitely a lot of matchups.
But yeah, I’m not gonna turn down anybody. Whoever name comes on
that contract, you can count on me saying, ‘Yes.’”
However, if it turns out that the UFC wants to part ways with
Barberena, he reiterated that he’d rather pursue other endeavors
than test the waters in the likes of Bellator, Professional
Fighters League or One Championship.
“Yeah, absolutely – I’d be done,” Barberena said. “Me and my wife
talk about this a lot. The UFC is where I want to be, that was the
goal all the time. I’m excited, I love being here. They treat me
well and I love being in front of these fans. It’s the biggest
organization out there. It’s the best organization out there as far
as I’m concerned. If they don’t want me to come out and put on
shows anymore, I’d go hang them up and spend my day at the farm
with the family and building that.”