Wayne Barrett (photo via GLORY)

By Kelsey Mowatt

After putting together an impressive 19-1 record as an amateur, it hasn’t taken Wayne Barrett long to capture the spotlight of professional kickboxing, and the middleweight says much of that is thanks to GLORY.

The growing promotion signed Barrett to a new deal after the 27 year-old had fought just once as a professional. Since then, the New York fighter has scored three more wins under the GLORY banner, and as a result, Barrett will fight in the promotion’s June 21st middleweight tourney.

“Without GLORY man, I don’t think I’d be who I am and where I am at this point, in such a short period of time,” Barrett relayed on a recent episode of Full Contact Fighter Radio, while discussing the promotion. “GLORY, in a word, is the saviour of kickboxing man. No one in kickboxing has ever seen this kind of money.”

“To think from going from these shows before, it was impossible to even fathom that this would happen in kickboxing,” added Barrett, who is coming off a decision win over veteran Joe Schilling at GLORY 12. “Most of the guys, we just do it for the love of it, and GLORY has basically changed the face of kickboxing.”

While Barrett’s opponent has yet to be officially announced, the 4-0 middleweight will be competing in a tournament which features top 185’ers like the aforementioned Schilling, Simon Marcus, and Artem Levin among others.

“I can’t deny that I see that there’s a difference, that people recognize me, of course, because of GLORY,” said Barrett, when asked if he’s received more media requests and fan recognition in recent months. “Their status and the deals that they’ve been doing, so yeah, people are aware of who I am now, and to be apart of this “Last Man Standing” tournament on June 21st, I’m in there with legends. I’m in there with guys that I grew up watching for years.”

Joe Schilling (left) and Wayne Barrett trade punches

While the GLORY roster features several, top ranked American fighters, many of the promotion’s elite fighters are from abroad. As a result, the argument has consistently been made that GLORY could use a few North American champions to help grow the sport in Canada and the U.S.

“Let’s go with responsibility,” said Barrett, when asked if he feels any pressure to further the sport in America. “I know that I have a chance, and when I think about where GLORY is now, I can’t help but think about where the UFC started. When I first started watching the UFC I didn’t know who these guys were, but the first guys are the biggest names to date still. Those are the guys that everybody remembers.”

“Being so young in my career, I can’t help but think about the responsibility, that in a few years, when GLORY goes mega, mega huge, guys are going to remember who is that American who first started it all. My name is in the mix, and that is definitely a task that is in the back of my head.”

GLORY’s “Last Man Standing” card will be hosted by the Forum in Inglewood, California, and will be available via pay-per-view.

The event will also feature Daniel Ghita taking on Rico Verhoeven for the promotion’s heavyweight title.