Bryan Barberena To UFC Brass: If You Don’t Want Me Anymore, That’s OK

UFC welterweight Bryan Barberena hopes that he and the UFC can come to terms on a new deal after his win at UFC Columbus.

Barberena squeaked out a split decision win over Matt Brown on the UFC Columbus main card. The bout earned Fight of the Night honors, with both fighters taking home an extra $50k for their back-and-forth war.

Barberena has won three of his last four fights in the UFC following back-to-back losses to Randy Brown and Vicente Luque in 2019. He earned a unanimous decision win over Darian Weeks in his previous fight in December.

Despite his recent run of success, Barberena says his days in the Octagon may be numbered. He said during his post-fight media availability that he has fought the last bout on his contract and it’s unclear if he’ll return to fight for the UFC.

During his UFC Columbus post-fight press conference, Barberena was asked to clarify where he and the UFC are at in terms of a potential new contract.

“I’m really glad it happened,” Barberena said of his fight against Brown finally coming together. “This was the last fight on my contract. I haven’t been open about that, but this was the last fight on my contract. The UFC didn’t say anything about renegotiating. I tried to ask about it.

“Dana White, let’s talk. I’d love to keep fighting. I’d love to keep putting on shows. I don’t want to fight anywhere else. If this is it, if you don’t want me no more, that’s OK. I’ll hang ’em up here. I should have left my gloves in the Octagon if that’s the case. But if not, I’d love to keep putting on shows.”

Barberena has fought a slew of the top welterweight contenders in the UFC since making his promotional debut back in 2014. He has fought top 170-pounders such as Colby Covington, Leon Edwards, and Warlley Alves during his tenure with the UFC.

UFC President Dana White was not present for UFC Columbus and the promotion has yet to publically comment on Barberena’s contract status. If he and the UFC can come to terms on a new deal, he’ll look forward to a return later in 2022.

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