In what many thought would be the "Fight of the Night," Pat Barry kicked his way to a unanimous decision win over Joey Beltran at UFC Fight Night 23: "Fight for the Troops 2."
Outcome aside, Joey Beltran deserves a ton of credit for his grit and determination in this heavyweight fight.
That said, "HD" came into this fight with a certain amount of expectation after his teammate Anthony Pettis impressed so many with his performance against Ben Henderson at WEC 53.
And while Barry wasn't able to land anything too flashy, let alone a ridiculous off-the-wall "Showtime" cage kick, he used his vast array of kickboxing skills to chop down the legs of Beltran on his way to the a big win in his first fight back from a broken foot and broken hand.
It certainly didn't come easy though.
Beltran lived up to his billing, from Barry himself, as a "walking zombie." He ate leg kick after leg kick after leg kick and just kept coming forward. Not only that, he was landing quite a few meaningful shots. In fact, enough to bloody and bruise the face of his opponent.
"The Mexicutioner" said he wanted a dirty brawl in this fight and for a short time he was able to do that.
His game was predicated on a high volume of shots that frustrated Barry and had him covering up as he backed away.
It was not enough, however, in the eyes of the judges, and Beltran dropped his second consecutive fight. However, his propensity for exciting performances should keep his job safe for the time being ... maybe.
I mean, who doesn't love a "walking zombie?"
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