Patrick Joseph Barry (born July 7, 1979) is a former American mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competed as a heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is particularly known for his low kicks. Barry began practicing Sanda while a college student and won numerous titles at domestic and international level before joining K-1 in 2005 where he competed for two years, mostly as a participant on the promotion's North American events. In 2008, he embarked on a career in MMA, winning his first three fights by knockout before signing a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and competing in the promotion for the next five years as a Heavyweight, compiling a 5–7 record with only one of the matches going the distance. Barry retired from MMA in late 2013 and returned to kickboxing the following year, joining Glory. He is also the fiancé and training partner of former UFC Women's Strawweight Champion, Rose Namajunas. Background Barry was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to an American military veteran father of European descent and an African-American mother. Barry's parents opened bilingual elementary schools around the world and as a result Barry was raised in Bogota, Colombia until the age of six. When his father died from cancer, he moved back to New Orleans with his mother, older sister and younger brother. Although he did not start training in martial arts until the age of 21, Barry grew up a fan of ninjas, the Street Fighter video games and Jean-Claude Van Damme films and often watched K-1 kickboxing in his youth. Barry has stated that his three heroes are his mother, Mike Tyson and Sagat, a Thai boxer from the Street Fighter video games. He worked as a pizza delivery man prior to his career in professional fight sports. Career Beginnings in Sanshou (2002–2005) Hailing from Eastern New Orleans, Barry started training professionally in Wushu, sanshou and Kickboxing at the age of twenty-one while a junior sociology major at the University of New Orleans when he walked into Russell Jones's Kickboxing Gym in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He made his professional debut on November 2, 2002 at the U.S. Open International Martial Arts Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada, winning the Sanda Kungfu Federation (SKF) United States Heavyweight Championship with a fourth round knockout over Robert Parham. He then left Jones' gym and pursued kickboxing full-time with Master Shawn Liu at LIU International in