Chris Barnett Signs With Power Slap

Chris Barnett is headed to Power Slap after the promotion announced that the former UFC heavyweight has signed to compete. The announcement gives Barnett his next combat-sports destination, but it does not yet provide the two details that would turn the move into a specific contest: an opponent and a date. For now, the signing is the news surrounding Barnett, whose career has repeatedly moved between different fighting formats.

Barnett arrives at the Power Slap podium with a long record of competition behind him. The 40-year-old owns a 23-10 MMA record and has competed as a heavyweight in MMA since 2009. His move is also not a first venture outside standard MMA competition. Barnett has logged appearances in boxing, kickboxing, bare-knuckle boxing and submission grappling, giving the signing a clear place within a career defined by experience under different rulesets. What remains unresolved is how and when Power Slap will use him in competition.

Barnett’s signing follows a return to winning

The Power Slap announcement comes after Barnett found his way back into the win column outside MMA. This past December, he earned a 61-second knockout over Johnathan Miller in a Karate Combat bout. That result followed his departure from the UFC in 2025, when consecutive losses to Hamdy Abdelwahab and Kennedy Nzechukwu ended his time with the promotion. Barnett went 2-4 in the UFC. One of the notable moments from that run was a Performance of the Night-winning knockout over Gian Villante. The result is relevant context for the new signing because it shows that Barnett’s career has included both a major UFC highlight and recent competition beyond the Octagon. The Power Slap deal does not announce an MMA return or a scheduled fight; it confirms a new competitive outlet while the particulars of his first appearance remain unannounced.

The sequence of events gives the signing a defined chronology without requiring assumptions about what comes next. Barnett competed in MMA as a heavyweight beginning in 2009, later recorded a 2-4 UFC stretch, and parted ways with the organization in 2025. He then scored the December Karate Combat knockout of Miller before Power Slap announced his signing. Each step is clear, while the next matchup remains unknown. The news is a contract announcement, not a booking with an opponent, card or timetable.

A career built across multiple formats

Barnett’s background makes the Power Slap move part of a wider combat-sports record rather than an isolated change of direction. In addition to MMA, he has competed in boxing, kickboxing, bare-knuckle boxing and submission grappling. His 2019 grappling appearance against former UFC fighter Yoel Romero ended when Romero made Barnett submit to a kimura. Those appearances provide useful context for the announcement: Barnett has previously competed under rulesets outside MMA, and Power Slap becomes another format on that list. They do not, however, answer the central open question created by the promotion’s announcement. Power Slap has not identified who Barnett will face or when he will compete. Until those details are released, the most accurate reading is that Barnett has signed on, with his first pairing still to be determined.

• Confirmed: Chris Barnett has signed with Power Slap and is set to compete for the promotion.
• Not yet announced: Barnett’s opponent and the date of his Power Slap competition.

Chris Barnett’s Power Slap signing adds a new chapter to a career that has included heavyweight MMA, UFC competition and several other combat-sports formats. The announcement matters on its own, but it stops short of a booking. Barnett’s opponent and competition date remain to be determined, leaving the next update to define his first event with the promotion.

Sources: MMA Fighting; MiddleEasy