Ever See A 300 Pound Man Land A 360 Degree Tornado Kick In MMA?

Chris ‘Huggy Bear’ Barnett is entertaining in victory and defeat, but we’re happy to announce that he got back to his winning ways two days before Christmas with a TKO win over Yoon Jae Shim at Korea’s ROAD FC 45 event. The win snaps a three fight losing skid for 2017 and saw Barnett back in fine form, landing tons of moves you’d never expect a super heavyweight to land like spinning back kicks and even a 360 degree tornado kick.

Barnett’s friend Alistair Overeem from their days training at the Blackzillians congratulated him on the win, sharing a highlight video of the performance and an inspiring bit about coming back from adversity.

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“Glad to see my friend Beast Boy Barnett win yesterday!” Overeem wrote. “This guy is one of the most funniest, durable guys I know! He might lack in length but he makes up for it by weight, heart and determination! He had a terrible 2017 fight-wise so seeing him close this year with a victory is just awesome and will bring a much better 2018. I’ve been there, in 06/07 I lost three fights in a row and everybody had written me off, but guess what? I came back stronger!”

Before his 2017 skid, Barnett was looking like a very promising prospect, and even in loss tended to entertain more than most fighters, even going so far as to breakdance in the cage after getting knocked out moments earlier.

As far as I’m concerned, there’s always room in MMA for guys like Barnett who are willing to put it on the line and pull off crazy Taekwondo moves in the process. Here’s hoping 2018 is as bright for ‘Huggy Bear’ as Alistair Overeem’s career was after that 06/07 slump. He followed that up by winning the Strikeforce and DREAM heavyweight championships in dominating fashion. And after another slump upon his arrival in the UFC, he’s back at the top contending for the UFC belt as well. Just more proof that you should never let setbacks get you down.