How old is Pat Barry? Everything about Rose Namajunas' coach and fiance who cornered her at UFC Paris
Former UFC champion Rose Namajunas and her boyfriend Pat Barry's age difference has long been a controversial issue in the MMA world.
Barry, an MMA coach and a former UFC athlete, is currently 44 years old. 'HD' started his MMA career way back in 2008. After building a 3-0 record, Barry made his way into the UFC.
He made his promotional debut at UFC 92 and went up against Dan Evansen in a heavyweight bout. Barry won the fight via TKO in the first round. 'HD" went on to have 12 fights in the multi-billion dollar promotion but managed to win only five of them.
During his stint in the UFC, Barry faced the likes of Cheick Kongo, Mirko Cro Cop, and Stefan Struve. He last competed in the UFC in December 2013 when he fought Soa Palelei in a heavyweight showdown. Barry ended up losing the fight via first-round knockout and then proceeded to part ways with the promotion.
Barry then took up coaching duties and has been a part of her fiance Namajunas' team for quite some time.
Barry was present in 'Thug's corner when she recently made her flyweight debut against Manon Fiorot at the UFC Paris event that took place on Sept. 2, 2023. The night did not go well for the 31-year-old as she lost the contest to Fiorot via unanimous decision. The three judges scored the bout 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 in favor of 'The Beast'.
When Sean Strickland accused Pat Barry of grooming 'Thug'
Rose Namajunas and his fiance Pat Barry have an age gap of 13 years. The two athletes allegedly met when 'Thug' was 14 or 15 years old and started dating after she turned 18.
This has led to Barry facing several accusations of grooming Namajunas. One of the people making these claims is none other than UFC middleweight Sean Strickland, who never hesitates to speak his mind and often creates controversies with his comments.
Chris Curtis shared a story of how Strickland confronted Barry and Namajunas on a bus ahead of UFC 274.
Namajunas went on to lose the fight against Carla Esparza at UFC 274. Barry then did an interview with Ariel Helwani where he shared that Strickland's comments prior to the fight might have contributed to Rose coming up short against Esparza.