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Chris Barnett notches 1st UFC win with wild roundhouse kick and celebration frontflip

Jack Baer
Staff writer
·1 min read
12

Meet Chris Barnett, the big man with a big knockout and big celebration at UFC 268 on Saturday.

The heavyweight recorded the first win of his UFC career during the early prelims, finishing veteran Gian Villante in the second round. He set up the knockout with a roundhouse kick that caught Villante completely off guard, then followed up with a flurry of blows until the ref called him off.

Then Barnett delivered the biggest highlight: an incredible frontflip, somehow improved by the fact that he landed on his butt.

Just watch:

Barnett further won over the crowd with a gracious speech praising the 36-year-old Villante, who was fighting the last bout of his career at Madison Square Garden, near his native Long Island.

"My man right here, 2-week-old at home," Barnett said. "He's about to retire, excellent football coach, got another son that's 22 months. This is his town, this is his place, y'all stand up, cheer for my man. This might have been his last one, but this ain't. He's going to be riding with me from now on."

Now holding a career MMA record of 21-7, Barnett opened his UFC tenure with a submission loss to Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 188 in May. He managed to make his win much more memorable.