“I had some people close to me that never stopped believing in me that helped build me back up and get me in the right place mentally to go back, put my best foot forward and beat down this goal and make sure I made it a reality.”
After nearly a year away from the sport as he got his life back together, Barrett returned with a June 2019 win over Zach DiSabatino, then got his Contender Series fight. One shot to make it right, and he hit the bullseye.
“It validated the last ten years of my life in such a way that all the sacrifices I made, all the relationships I walked away from, all the friendships that I never nurtured the way I should have, it was all worth it,” he said. “I was willing to sacrifice everything to see this goal through, and this is really just the beginning now that I’m here. I just need that first fight, I need to impress those people, they need to see how I can perform at that next level and still destroy people at 145.”
Ten pounds south of his Contender Series fight at lightweight, Barrett is determined to not just stay in the UFC, but to make a mark. He was scheduled to break his contract in a week from Saturday against Danny Henry, a fight he was more than happy to get for his Octagon debut.
“As far as I’m concerned, that is a great matchup,” said Barrett. “Him and I are very similar style-wise. It would have been a great fight for the fans, super exciting, and I anticipated that him and I were gonna sit there and see who fell first to the other one’s fists.”
It’s a fight that won’t be happening on April 25 due to the COVID-19 situation, but Barrett is staying ready in case the call comes for him to meet “The Hatchet” later this spring. That means setting up his basement with everything he needs to keep in shape while keeping his phone on.
“The biggest thing for me coming out of this is to keep the momentum going and to be ready so when they’re looking for fighters to start scheduling things, I can be on the top of that list.”
It’s a different world than it was a year ago at this time, not just for Peter Barrett, but for everybody. Yet you get the impression that Barrett wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s been a journey,” he chuckles as he awaits his fresh start as a UFC fighter. But is it a fresh start?
“I can’t go that far because I have to respect everything that I’ve gone through to get here, because without it, I wouldn’t be here,” he said. “I would like to think of this as maybe Part Two or Part Three of the same story, but definitely not a new book.”
How does the story end, though?
“This story ends with me being a world champion and I really think it’s possible.”
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