Issue 108

December 2013

Luke Barnatt is planning on making big waves in the UFC middleweight division – before begging Dana White to let him move back into the TUF mansion.

Usually, like after every season, the cast of the latest Ultimate Fighter take turns to complain about how tough life was inside the house. Living shoulder to shoulder with rival fighters, being banned from contacting the outside world, and being coached in front of studio cameras is often too much for most and only the weeks that follow finally drown out their groans.  

Yet, not for one fighter. Indeed, unbeaten middleweight Luke ‘Bigslow’ Barnatt absolutely loved every second of filming TUF 17 with coaches Chael Sonnen and Jon Jones, and if he had his way he’d move back in tomorrow – and stay there permanently.

“I don’t understand how anyone can go on The Ultimate Fighter and complain,” he says to FO. “If you train MMA like I do, which is two to three times a day, seven days a week, and you get a chance to train with some of the best middleweights in the world, plus Chael Sonnen is your coach, can you really complain?

“I’d gone from sleeping on the floor of my home gym, training two to three times a day and grafting just to eat ­– to living in this mansion in Las Vegas, training with Chael Sonnen. I got asked a question on Twitter recently, someone asked me what the hardest thing about The Ultimate Fighter was, and I told them the hardest thing was having to leave. I could’ve stayed there forever.”

Standing at a lean six-foot-six, Barnatt strikes an imposing figure. And it’s one he backs up with a 6-0 pro record and the confidence that comes with it. Not only is he convinced of his skills as a mixed martial artist, he also has a strong conviction in how successful he can be in the sport.

“I have an unbelievable self-belief,” he accepts. “It’s not created by anything and it’s not a gimmick. It’s real. When I say things it comes across as genuine because I truly believe whatever I say. I fought a guy called Lee Johnson who was 5-1. When I fought him he was a ‘two-time world champion,’ according to his record.

“I destroyed him in the fight, and in an interview I said, ‘Give it a year and Lee Johnson will be sitting in a pub telling his mates that he fought Luke Barnatt once.’ It’s an arrogant comment, but I guarantee that when I fight Andrew Craig in Manchester (UFC Fight Night 30) that’s exactly what he’ll be doing.”

It’s statements like this, filled with complete self-belief, that stand Barnatt out as one of the UFC’s hottest new European prospects. However, he’s quick to reveal that before he turned 21, fighting for a living was far from his mind.

The son a of rock band photographer, who toured with the likes of AC/DC and Led Zeppelin in the 70s, and a Jehovah’s Witness mother, Barnatt wasn’t around combat sports as a youngster. In fact, the only battles he took part in were the type that involved a keyboard and a mouse, playing PC game Tactical Ops.

After spending a few years working in the restaurant industry, “drinking a bottle of wine and five beers every night,” and, “going nowhere fast,” Barnatt finally found his true calling: mixed martial arts.

After going 5-0 on the domestic British scene, he borrowed £800 off his grandmother to try out for the 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter. And even though he was suffering from a shoulder injury, he still managed to impress the top brass and was invited into the house. 

A loss to Dylan Andrews in the quarter final of the show (recorded as an exhibition fight so not tarnishing his pro tally) squandered his chances of success. However, Barnatt impressed UFC officials enough that he was given a second chance at the TUF 17 Finale, defeating fellow cast member Collin Hart in a bloody battle.

Now back in his native UK, Barnatt – sponsored by Medi Evil Nutrition and Dynamic Fightwear – is due to face another hot prospect on October 26th in Craig, the Texan who ended fan favorite Chris Leben’s aspirations of a return to form in July. However, with Sonnen in his corner, a man who Barnatt admits has become a huge influence on him since filming TUF, and the home crowd rooting for him, the Brit is adamant of further success.

He finishes: “Having my next fight in England, in front of the English fans, will be great. No offense to Andrew Craig, but no one besides from hardcore MMA fans know who he is. I’m a much bigger name to the crowd than him and we’re going to see that on the night.”