Fight Path: For XFC’s big man Chris Barnett, martial arts was a family affair

By MMAEdition on Jul 30, 2009 with Comments 0

Chris Barnett was a solid 320 pounds when went into the Xtreme Fighting Championships tryout in October.

The Tampa gym was busy with fighters who wanted a shot at MMA, especially in an organization known to host some of the most exciting up-and-comers around. Not many of them, though, had heard about the tryout following a breakdancing back-and-forth with one of the organization’s representatives, as Barnett had.

But Barnett was unusual in several ways. He had come from a taekwondo-practicing family with an Air Force father who was quiet but respected. He had been a small-college wrestler who had learned judo with a friend because, frankly, there’s not much else to do in Campbellsville, Ky., as MMAjunkie.com’s Kyle Nagel explains in our latest “Fight Path” edition.