UFC 161: June 15, 2013 MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada UFC Heavyweight Contender Pat Barry (-175) Profile: Profile: The always jovial Pat Barry (8-5) has been part of some of the most exciting fights of the last few years. His kickboxing, although not unbelievable in the kickboxing world, is world-class for MMA, and he uses his baseball bat-like kicks to cut down his opponents with scary efficiency. After moving to Minnesota from Milwaukee to train with former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and the Death Clutch team, he joined Greg Nelson’s Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Minneapolis. Barry has alternated wins and losses in his past four bouts and hopes to win two straight for the first time since knocking out Dan Evensen in his UFC debut back in 2008 when he meets Shawn Jordan at UFC 161. UFC Heavyweight Contender Shawn Jordan (+135) Profile: Shawn Jordan (14-4), a former fullback at LSU, brings his massive athletic frame to the UFC for just the second time in his career after fighting previously in Strikeforce and Bellator among a few other lesser-known organizations. Jordan lacks experience against top competition but is a world-class athlete with knockout power and a decent ground game. The 28-year-old is still growing as a mixed martial artist and rebounded from an uninspired effort in a loss to Cheick Kongo at UFC 149 last July 21 with a second-round TKO of Mike Russow on January 26. Opening UFC 161 Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Barry a small -175 favorite (bet $175 to win $100) while Jordan opened as a +135 underdog (bet $100 to win $135) at Several Bookmakers sportsbook. These are two similarly built fighters who are both very powerful, and each will be looking for a finish because that’s mainly the way they have won. Barry and Jordan have one decision victory apiece among their 22 combined wins to go along with 16 knockouts and four submissions. Jordan looked terrible in his unanimous decision loss to Kongo but rebounded nicely against Russow while Barry is coming off an emotional Knockout of the Night performance against Del Rosario following a setback. Each enters this matchup off a win, and Barry has not won two in a row since 2008. Jordan is a bit more inexperienced considering Barry’s kickboxing background, and his last two losses have come via UD. The key for Barry will be to tire Jordan out because the longer the fight goes, the more it seems to favor him earning a victory.
