Luke Barnatt and Collin Hart engaged in a battle of attrition that saw both fighters inflict their fair share of damage over three full rounds of action. In the end it would be Barnatt that would come out on top with scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27 to earn his first UFC victory by unanimous decision.
Collin Hart charged across the octagon to start, looking to close the distance and neutralize the reach advantage of the lengthy Luke Barnatt. Barnatt flashed his jab to keep range, but Hart kept coming forward landing short, powerful punches inside during an early exchange. The fight hit the mat for a moment, but Barnatt made his way back to his feet and landed some stinging knees as he mixed up his attack with laser-straight punches down the middle. Hart came back strong, closing the distance and scoring before taking the fight to the canvas. Back on the feet, Barnatt went right back to his jab before both fighters engaged in an exciting series of exchanges to cap off an exciting opening round.
Barnatt went right back to his jab to start the second, while Hart again pressured, moving forward and scoring with multiple-punch combinations. The two “TUF 17” cast members kept the action intense, standing in the pocket and trading in big exchanges. Again, Barnatt landed the cleaner, straighter punches, while Hart scored with the more powerful, winging strikes. Later in the round, Barnatt secured an arm of Hart against the cage, then rolled into a kimura attempt before transitioning to a guillotine attempt. Hart survived and landed a late head kick as time ran out on the second stanza.
The pace slowed considerably to start the final round as Hart plodded forward to close the distance. Barnatt worked his jab to perfection as the fatigued Hart gave chase. Barnatt mixed in kicks and used his foot movement to take control of the round. Hart continued to try to close the distance but paid for it as Barnatt peppered him with more jabs and stinging right hands as the round wore on.
A late takedown by Collin Hart proved to be too little too late, as the cards came back in favor of Luke Barnatt with scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27.
The win improves Barnett to 6-0 overall (1-0 UFC).