Chris Barnett Trades the Cage for Power Slap After UFC Exit

Chris Barnett is the newest name on the Power Slap roster. The promotion confirmed Wednesday that the 40-year-old heavyweight has signed on, though no opponent or date has been locked in yet. It's a fresh chapter for a fighter whose MMA ledger sits at 23-10, with 18 of those wins coming by knockout and not a single one by submission.

That power-heavy profile is exactly the kind of resume Power Slap likes to advertise. Barnett spent parts of two years in the UFC and went 2-4 there, a stretch highlighted by a Performance of the Night knockout over Gian Villante. The other side of that record caught up with him in 2025, when back-to-back losses to Hamdy Abdelwahab and Kennedy Nzechukwu ended his run with the promotion.

From the Octagon to Everywhere Else

Calling Barnett a well-traveled combat athlete undersells it. Since debuting as a heavyweight in 2009, he's boxed, kickboxed, fought bare-knuckle, and even took a submission grappling match against former UFC standout Yoel Romero in 2019 — a night that ended with Romero locking up a kimura and forcing the tap. Adding an open-hand slapping contest to that list barely registers as a surprise.

He also didn't leave MMA on a low note. After parting ways with the UFC, "Beastboy" resurfaced in Karate Combat this past December and flattened Johnathan Miller in 61 seconds. For a fighter whose whole game is built on heavy hands, that kind of quick finish is the perfect audition tape for a promotion where one clean strike decides everything.

The move fits a broader trend of veteran heavyweights finding a soft landing under the Power Slap banner, where name recognition and knockout power translate directly to the format. Barnett brings both. The 18 knockouts on his record aren't padding — they're the reason he's employable in a discipline that rewards exactly one thing.

For now, the details are thin. No opponent, no date, no card announced. What we do know is that a 40-year-old with a two-decade fight career and a fresh knockout on his reel has decided the slap table is his next stop. Given everything else he's tried, it might be the least strange decision he's made.