“Destruction” is what is on Wayne Barrett’s mind as he heads into next month’s GLORY 20 DUBAI Middleweight Contender Tournament.
He faces Simon ‘Bad Bwoy’ Marcus in the semi-final stage of the four-man tournament. Even though he and Marcus share a common Jamaican heritage and have a lot in common, Barrett says there will be “no nice guy s--t” when the bell rings.
“He’s gonna come forward man. He’s gonna come forward and try and land that dangerous right hand of his straight down the middle. You think I am hardheaded? He is a hardheaded dude. He is going to try and pressure me and make me break. But he is going to run into something big,” he says.
“I think at first he will come out and be really aggressive, try to intimidate me, keep his hands high, but after the first round he will go back to being who he really is. He’s going to try and imitate Buakaw, throw a million kicks, and he will clinch and knee because he feels safe there.
“But the only thing on my mind is destruction. If he wants a war he can have one. No nice-guy s--t. He can’t break me, I can handle pressure. When I hit him, he is going to wisen up.”
Barrett is coming off a decision loss to Jason Wilnis at GLORY 18 OKLAHOMA in November. Wilnis dominated the fight and was on peak form while Barrett never really seemed to get into gear. If they win their semi-final fights in this tournament, they will meet in the final.
“Its a tournament of hungry fighters. Everybody wants that shot at Levin. Everyone in this tournament has got something to prove,” he explains.
“Pereira wants to prove he can win another tournament and get another fight with Levin. Wilnis wants a rematch with Levin as well. Simon has had bad results in his last two fights and he is going to try and make an example out of me and obviously I’ve got a point to prove as well after my last fight.
“After that showing against Wilnis, whether I was 100 per cent or not, now I gotta go out there and show everyone like, ‘This is me’ now that I’m without any injuries and stuff.”
Barrett has studied tape of his fight with Wilnis. He says he carried an injury into the bout - although he won’t say what it was - and also that there were things he did and did not do which could have made a difference.
Prior to the bout he had made several comments about how he saw his style matching up against Wilnis’ textbook Dutch kickboxing style. Barrett felt his own movement-based approach would be too much for Wilnis to handle, and was surprised when Wilnis was able to shut him down and punish him.
“I watched the fight and I saw some things to work on. Then I went to the [GLORY 19] event in Virginia and that was the first time I really got a chance to go to a GLORY event and just watch guys doing their thing; it was interesting,” he says.
“The best guys are all tough and they come forward and go for the knockout… but standing there in the middle of the ring like ‘check a kick/return the kick, over and over’ never going to be my thing. I want to be a superstar and I am going to be one. I am 100 per cent now.
“All the guys in this tournament are top guys and they want to show that they belong in the contender conversation, but I am going to show people my style and who I am.”
Barrett is also taking inspiration from his team mates in New York. Some of his training partners are high-level MMA competitors and two in particular have achieved high levels of success recently. Barrett wants to emulate them.
“I am the only guy in my stable who doesn’t have a world title right now!” he laughs. “I train with David Branch, he’s got the World Series of Fighting belt at 185lbs, and Liam McGeary just won the Bellator MMA light-heavyweight belt. he’s actually the first British fighter to hold a major world title in MMA.
“I don’t have a belt yet; I want one. That’s the pressure I am putting on myself.”
GLORY 20 DUBAI takes place Friday April 3 at the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Robin van Roosmalen headlines in a World Lightweight Championship title defense against Andy ‘The Machine’ Ristie.
In the co-main, a GLORY World Featherweight Champion will be crowned for the first time as Gabriel Varga of Canada meets Mosab ‘The Jaguar’ Amrani of Morocco in what is expected to produce a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender for 2015.
GLORY 20 DUBAI airs in the US on Spike TV at 10pm ET/9pm CT and will air in 140 territories worldwide. Check local listings for details.
