Irishman Dean “The Sniper” Barry Announces UFC Signing
Irish fighter Dean “The Sniper” Barry (4-1) has announced his signing to the UFC. The 29-year-old Dubliner expressed his delight of becoming the third active Irishman on the world-leading MMA promotion’s roster:
“I am so happy to announce I have just signed a multi fight deal with the biggest organisation in the world,” Barry announced.
“This has been a long road back and I am so proud to be here, thank you to everyone involved behind the scenes for making this happen”
https://twitter.com/deanbarry92/status/1482103670179344384
Barry was originally signed to the UFC roster in November 2020 off the back of the most notable victory of his young career to date, a first-round KO over Abdulla Al Bousheiri (7-1) at UAE Warriors 13.
https://twitter.com/andyste123/status/1309537969712365569
After signing with the UFC, Barry was scheduled to fight former CM Punk opponent Mike Jackson (1-1) in January 2021 on Fight Island. However, the matchup was initially postponed after Jackson became unavailable due to undisclosed reasons, and the fight ultimately fell through after visa issues forced Barry to withdraw. As a result, Barry found himself on the outside looking in at the UFC, and was advised to seek another matchup outside of the UFC.
The former world-champion kickboxer booked a fight vs Reynaldo Acevedo (8-2) on Titan FC 69, but Barry suffered an injury on fight week forcing him off the card. Last month, Barry finally stepped foot in the Titan FC cage again, beating late-notice replacement Drew Lipton (6-30) in just 21 seconds, after Barry’s original opponent Hugo Prada (8-4) withdrew.
Now, it seems that the Tallaght native has finally punched his ticket to the UFC. Speaking to MyMMANews, Barry explained that he never gave up in pursuing his goal of signing with the promotion:
“My journey should inspire people to never give up, no matter what obstacles or hurdles you face. If you really want something, you will find a way, and that’s what I did. I spent a year pursuing my visa to make sure I got it, and I’m doing it all for my son!” Barry told MyMMANews.
