The Incredible Journey of Mike Barton

Mike Barton has traveled a long road to get where he is at today in the world of Mixed Martial Arts.  He became a MMA star virtually overnight as he convincingly won a fight he was supposed to lose.  “Supposed to.”  That is something that isn’t in Mike Barton’s vocabulary.  He does what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants to do it.  And usually that involves winning.  Barton recently fought for PRIDE Bushido November 4 against Ikuhisa “The Punk” Minowa.

          How did a former professional wrestler get to where Barton is at now, a new face in the MMA world at the ripe age of 42?  “I took control of my own destiny,” Barton said about his career in WWE, winning the Brawl for All.  Brawl for All was a legitimate competition WWE held to determine the toughest wrestler in the company, designed to have another wrestler win.  All Mike did, was shock the world, and beat the top 3 fighters in the tournament and win it himself. 

“Yes, I’ve always been interested in fighting.  I always got into fights when I was a little kid.  Whether in bars, on the streets, I’ve always been in a lot of fights.  I’ve always been in a lot of trouble.”  How did Barton get into the world of Ultimate Fighting  after being labeled a wrestler?  “It is something that I started a long time ago, then I got into professional wrestling and put it aside.  Now that I’ve been a professional wrestler, I got hurt and took about 2 years off, and I was getting back into wrestling and MMA opened up down here and it was another way to get back into the stuff that I loved.”

            So on June 17, Barton had his debut MMA fight at 42, and faced off against one of Hawaii’s most dominate and famous fighters in Wesley “Cabbage” Correira and everyone thought this was just a formality. “I was excited about it, it was the first time I had ever been in a cage.  I knew going in I was going to win, nobody else thought I was going to win.  I knew because I had confidence in myself and I knew what I could do, so I felt pretty good going in and I looked forward to shocking everybody.”  So was Barton surprised at the end result of his fight?   “No, not at all. I wouldn’t have been there if I didn’t think it was possible to win.”  Barton came in a virtual unknown and now he was being talked about as being one of the dominate heavyweights following fellow Valor Fighters such as Predator.

            Mike knows he is an underdog in this world, and relishes his role because  he believes in himself.  Barton looks to make a name for himself in the fighting world as well, not just the occasional fight.  “I want to keep on fighting and see how far it can take me.  Now that I am actually training everyday, I am getting better everyday, and I want to see how far it will take me."  Barton had a  fight with PRIDE November 4.  His opponent, Minowa, better known as “The Punk,” slightly more experienced than the 1-0 Barton had a record of 34-24-8 coming into the fight. Barton, not intimidated said about “The Punk,”  “Tell Minowa to bring everything he’s got because he’s gonna need it and some more!”

            Barton aside from being a tough guy and a fighter, has also become an inspiration ala George Foreman when he came back to win the World Title in Boxing.  At the age of 42, most would be retired by now from the fighting world, or looking to do something less stressful on the body.  Not Mike Barton.  He wants a challenge in every aspect of his life, and loves the thrill of competition.  Age is nothing to him, he will not let anything slow him down or anyone tell him he cannot do something.  When asked what it is like to be described as an inspiration, Barton said, “It goes back to pro wrestling.  I went to school, then I became an electrician, and I got into pro wrestling in my later years.  I was old to get into pro wrestling as most are in their early 20’s, I was in my very late 20’s  starting in pro wrestling.  It’s actually an accomplishment.  People may count me out because of my age, but its my drive, its my will, it’s the heart. To the doubters, Barton has this to say, " To everybody that doubts me, I could care less about all of the negative things that are said about me, it just makes you look more stupid in the end.  They all want to harp on the Butterbean thing, and look past everything else, that’s their problem.  They didn’t give me a chance to beat Cabbage and I won.  They don’t really say too much about that though, they just keep bringing up Butterbean.  Everybody gets caught once in a while.  I just want to shove it down their throats.  People sit down at their keyboards and think they’re experts, they’ve never done a physical thing in their life and they talk about this, its ridiculous, and it irritates the hell out of me.”

by Anthony Rosas

            Come November 4, we will see the spirit and determination of Mike Barton yet again, as he comes in, the underdog, facing Minowa, who has 64 pro fights to his one.  He will be making his PRIDE debut, and all the odds are stacked against him.  And he loves it.  He cant wait to beat “The Punk” and shock the world…….again