As UFC title shot awaits, Rose Namajunas relying on lessons from fiance Pat Barry

(This story appears in today’s edition of USA TODAY.)

Former UFC heavyweight Pat Barry has no trouble recalling the first time he realized that his fiancee, Rose Namajunas, might be a special fighter.

“I knew it after the first punch she hit me with in practice,” Barry tells USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie. “I was like, whoa, wait a minute. What was that?”

Pat Barry and Rose Namajunas

What it was, Barry (8-7 MMA, 5-7 UFC) soon learned, was a jab from one of the brightest prospects in the women’s 115-pound division. Now that Namajunas (2-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has fought her way into the finals of the UFC’s reality show tournament for season 20 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the rest of the MMA world is getting a chance to learn the same lesson – only not all of them have had to experience it firsthand.

That honor was reserved for the three opponents Namajunas beat to go from just another UFC hopeful in the 16-woman field to a fighter who’s now one win away from becoming the organization’s first female strawweight champion. That’s what’s on the line when she meets fellow finalist Carla Esparza (9-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale in Las Vegas on Friday (9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1), and the journey to this point has been “a crazy ride,” according to Namajunas.

That ride began back when Namjunas and Barry, who was then an established MMA fighter and pro kickboxer, first met. Back then, Barry put his own career first, though that soon changed.

“When I recognized her talent, I asked her if this was something she really wanted to pursue, and she told me she did,” Barry says. “I told her that as long as she’d commit to it and do what it takes, she’d never have to work, never have to take the garbage out, none of that. I’ll handle all that for her. For the last four or five years, that’s what I’ve done.”

Carla Esparza, Dave Sholler and Rose Namajunas

Barry’s own career is, in his words, “winding down” now. After a five-year run in the UFC ended with two straight knockout losses in 2013, he returned to the kickboxing world he’d come up in, with mixed results. The glory days are, for him, almost over, and just in time for Namajunas’ to begin.

“Pat knows he’s not going to be able to do this forever,” Namajunas says. “He’s focused a lot on helping me learn from his career, and that’s made a big difference for me. … He’s taught me everything. Since I met him, a lot of my striking I got from him. I watched him and emulated him as much as I could.”

Barry not only advises her about the technical aspects of the sport, he also serves as a guide to the MMA world that sometimes vexes fighters outside the cage. At a recent media event, he could be seen pulling Namajunas aside between interviews to give her feedback on her answers to reporters. It’s one more way he tries to use his experience – and his mistakes – to guide her to the top.

“I’ve been able to give her the things that I’ve done right, and she’s witnessed for herself the things I’ve done wrong,” Barry says. “This stuff with Rose, it’s helped me to be honest with myself. I thought I was being honest with myself before, but now I’m able to admit to myself that I’m not the monster I used to be. But I’m fine with that, because I completely enjoy my role in pushing Rose to the limit. She’s going to accomplish goals that I was never able to get close to in my career.”

Only Esparza stands in the way of one such goal – becoming UFC women’s strawweight champion. On Friday night, the newly engaged couple is looking forward to having something new to celebrate together.

For more on The Ultimate Fighter Finale 20, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.