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Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:25 pm EST

UFC fighter was eating ketchup and rice before UFC 104

By Steve Cofield

If anyone needed a huge postfight bonus at UFC 104, it was Pat Barry. The heavyweight out of New Orleans, scored Knockout of the Night and Fight of the Night for his victory over Antoni Hardonk. That was good enough for $120,000. Good thing,  Barry needed the infusion of cash in the worst way. He confirmed to MMAScrapsRadio that he was completely down on his luck before the fight, agreeing that he had little to eat in Los Angeles the week of the fight.

"I still had my apartment but if something would've happened and the fight had been canceled, I would've been evicted six days later."

Barry, 30, said he didn't even tell his trainer Duke Roufus for fear that he would think the fighter had the wrong motivation going into the fight. Barry said he didn't ask anyone for money including his mother:

"I could ask someone but then at the same time, how hard are you going to work for something if everytime you get in trouble somebody catches you? I did something to put myself in this position I have to work my way out of it."

Listen to Barry talk about his troubles before the fight:

Barry got his $120,000 bonus check last Tuesday. He couldn't believe it. When he went to deposit the check, his truck wouldn't start. Barry got a jump and hit the bank sporting a black eye and pink striped shorts. 

"I go to the bank, I'm sweaty, I've got the black eye, I haven't shaven in two days, I'm strung out because I haven't slept, I have green circles under my eyes so I'm like 'Can I have a deposit slip mam?'. She gives it to me, I fill it out hand it to her. She looks at the deposit slip, then the check, then looks at me and says 'Excuse me I'll be right back.' Then a manager comes out, a guy in a suit and says 'What seems to be the problem?' I was like 'Well I have a black eye, that's the only problem I know this looks really ridiculous.' So he asks me for my ID, I hand him my license an he's like 'Your license says Pat Barry, but this check was written to Patrick Barry.' So I decided to be funny and tell him Pat Barry is in my trunk right now. He didnt laugh. So I told him take your time man do whatever you need to do because I have no where to go and my truck probably wont start when I go outside so you can just do whatever you need to do. An hour later he came back and everything was fine, the check was in my bank account."

Listen here to the entire Barry interview. 

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1967 Comments

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  1. MICHAEL R
    1. Posted by MICHAEL R Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:59 pm EST

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    Let's hope he has someone in his family that can help him manage his money. That $120,000, after taxes, can get him by nicely for a few years, if he's careful. He can build himself back up financially so that the only thing he'll use ketchup for is a good cheeseburger. And he'll have a car that starts.
  2. boxy55
    2. Posted by boxy55 Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:03 pm EST

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    Great fight--good for him! This is exactly what makes this sport for the average joe!! Not everybody can be as wealthy and intelligent as NUTCRACKERJOEGAYMATH54!! NUTCRACKER EXPOSED!!
  3. Clint
    3. Posted by Clint Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:16 pm EST

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    Steve, Nice article w/ good insight. Give us some more of this and less TMZ Maggie stuff.
  4. Allen
    4. Posted by Allen Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:19 pm EST

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    Nice attitude from his bank. I think he might want to consider switching institutions.
    And #4, rumor has it that Dana and Zuffa do not pay their low level fighters enough.
    Looks like this might be an example of one of them.
    I would say the average low level fighter pulls in $4,000 a fight. I am not sure about you, but $4,000 doesn't get a person very far. And considering he has a manager, training fees, rent, food, insurance, etc.
    Maybe he is bad with money, or maybe he doesn't have enough money to be bad with.
    One would think a man of his size would at least be in security, a bar bouncer, or even a laborer to earn some extra scratch in between his UFC pay checks.
    I wasn't all for his FON honors, but seeing where as this guy has devoted himself to being part of the sport at all costs, more power to him and congratulations.
    Good luck to him and his future in MMA. He seems to be a class act.
  5. BNG
    5. Posted by BNG Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:20 pm EST

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    tim, UFC fighters don't fight more than 2-3 times per year. The average fighter, even on a PPV ticket gets around $18k per fight, plus a bonus for winning and the other bonuses of KO and Fight of the Night, etc. Living and training in LA, that amount of money dries up in two months. That is why most fighters do a trining camp and walk around heavier than their fight weight. they keep as proficient as they can at their local gym and save up their money to pay for that 8-week intensive with a good camp. We're talking average fighters, not champions and not headliners. You can bet Griffin and Ortiz are now getting a bigger payout since they are healining in three weeks.
  6. tdube09
    6. Posted by tdube09 Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:25 pm EST

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    or he spent it all on training.Training/Gym costs in BJJ, Boxing, kickboxing, and stuff like that arent cheap dude and a lot of these guys have regular day jobs before fighting in the ufc. there was a guy last week they were talking about quitting his bank job in order to train full time for his ufc fight...
  7. He-man
    7. Posted by He-man Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:26 pm EST

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    Michael R - Where do you live where you can get by on arguably $80K (after taxes) for SEVERAL YEARS? I need to move there.
  8. Robert C
    8. Posted by Robert C Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:30 pm EST

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    Good story. Glad he got what he got, without asking anyone for help. I can imagine the scene at the bank, funny stuff. (especially the part about his truck probably won't start anyway).
  9. George
    9. Posted by George Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:35 pm EST

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    He-man: My guess, his mom's house
  10. Steven W
    10. Posted by Steven W Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:07 pm EST

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    boxy.....i know your nutcracker crush is pretty serious man....or woman.....but do we really need to "expose" him on every thread? even the ones he hasn't even commented on yet? what exactly are you exposing? do you just have that auto-signature set up so every time you comment on anything it says nutcracker exposed? to me that seems like the only explanation that gets you off the "obsessed" hook......but still
  11. smoovevibe
    11. Posted by smoovevibe Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:22 pm EST

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    Hmmm... this discussion is going no where... it's a nice story but really what more is there to say besides good luck to the guy? LOL... (well and apparently expose Nutcracker LOL.. who those of us who've been posting on here for a while have figured out a long time ago posts here under several different names.. the comments and style give themselves away every time... so yeah you know it and a lot of people know it.. maybe you can stop w/ the "breaking news bulletins now LOL)...
    anyway I just wanted to say that you CAN set yourself up w/ 120K after tax... I think the caveat there is what you do w/ it..and what kind of life style you lead in the meantime... so @ He-Man if the guy continues to live at a low level and invests and saves well he could definitely parlay that money into something that can keep him going for years... but you'll have to holler at me on the stock/finance blogs about that one LOLLOL...
  12. Ryan
    12. Posted by Ryan Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:22 pm EST

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    tim-
    Do you know who Pat Barry is? Dont try to look it up on wiki because it isnt there. My point is he's relatively new to the UFC with just a couple fights under his belt, one of which i believe was a loss. Just because you fight for the UFC doesnt mean you get some huge signing bonus and youre out partying it up with Liddell. Most prelim fighters get paid under 10k a fight, if that. that over a period of about 8 months doesnt get you too far. If youre serious about fighting, you dont train at home (...roy nelson), you spend the big bucks to get the right trainers and camps. I say hats off to Pat Barry, he worked his ass of and got what he deserved. by the sounds of it, going through what he has gone through, which i dont know what that may be, he deserved every cent of it and wlll probably NOT be foolish with his money and appreciate it alot more.
  13. Clintorious
    13. Posted by Clintorious Mon Nov 02, 2009 5:16 pm EST

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    Congrats on that Pat.
    That really is a good story and that picture of him tells it all.
    He won eating rice and ketchup imagine if he cold eat some chicken?
  14. Rob R
    14. Posted by Rob R Mon Nov 02, 2009 5:34 pm EST

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    I forget...But does UFC provide health services or insurance for its fighters? Barry's getting surgery. Is that coming out of his $120K?
  15. Brian
    15. Posted by Brian Mon Nov 02, 2009 5:42 pm EST

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    How come some of you idiots can't just laugh and pat him on the back? There are always bitter people out there who just hate when someone else does something good....I feel bad for anyone around you!
    for those of you who just laughed and thought it was a pretty cool story, good for you. Thank god we all aren't bitter jack asses!
  16. mathiasmorciglio
    16. Posted by mathiasmorciglio Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:12 pm EST

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    Pat's new to the UFC and I doubt he's made a whole lot of money there yet, and training camps do cost a lot of money. That being said, Pat readily admits that he did something to put himself in this financial position. Obviously something he doesn't want to discuss with the blogoshpere. I say good for him, and good for not looking for handouts. But I thought he was a former kickboxer? Don't Joe and Goldie always talk about how he was a champion kickboxer? Didn't he make any money doing that before he moved to MMA? If so, he must've spent it. Anyone know about this? I don't follow K-1/kickboxing too closely.
  17. John
    17. Posted by John Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:23 pm EST

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    I saw his interview and he had to almost force himself from outright crying........I personally thought it was the victory but now that I know more about the circumstances of him being so emotional I can't help but think this guy really deserved the victory and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Wishing Pat more good luck !
  18. Steven W
    18. Posted by Steven W Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:37 pm EST

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    mathias....yes he's a former kickboxer, but i'd hardly say he made anywhere close to a ton of money doing so. the term "professional kickboxer" is pretty vague. k1 is one of maybe 2 organizations where a kickboxer can make decent money....however he only had 3 k1 wins, most notably over gary goodridge (not much to write home about). he also spent some time in the WCL, chuck norris' league.....not sure if you've seen it, but one couldn't make much dough there either....however it did provide great exposure for a short period of time. so we'll say that not only is he a pro kickboxer, he's a k1 level kickboxer.....but if he wanted to make serious money there he needed to beat better guys than gary goodridge and mark selbee.
    what i find pretty interesting is that he was a 2-time american san shou champion and was accepted with open arms by the chinese san shou team......apparently he's known as the "true shaolin warrior of the west." cool title to have if you ask me, not to mention being able to train at the shaolin temple...pertty sweet.
  19. gohubb
    19. Posted by gohubb Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:41 pm EST

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    Ya I am pretty sure he was in k1 for awile
  20. Rom66
    20. Posted by Rom66 Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:44 pm EST

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    I liked the article and I like Pat Barry!! As far as his winnings go - I live in North-Central Florida - per capita income in the county I live in is around $18500 per year - it would take me almost 7 years to make that much money!! It is very expensive for fighters to live and train in certain big cities and would probably be a good idea for the lower paid/level fighters to move to the mid west or the south. I also agree - Pat Barry change banks!!
  21. Brizzle T
    21. Posted by Brizzle T Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:44 pm EST

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    Pat Barry's one of my new favorite guys in the UFC. Good luck to the New Orleans boy!
  22. jim
    22. Posted by jim Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:58 pm EST

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    completely agree with brian.
  23. infiniachess
    23. Posted by infiniachess Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:10 pm EST

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    he should be able to get some sponsers now hopefully...it was a great fight, he deserved this.
    glad it didnt go to rumble johnson...
  24. beach dude
    24. Posted by beach dude Mon Nov 02, 2009 9:18 pm EST

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    hell i am broke and laid off,i would fight anyone at 185 or 170 lbs for cash,good for berry

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