Daniel Barez’s current UFC contract is set to come to an end Saturday.
Barez, a pioneer of Spanish MMA, will fight the fourth and final bout of his UFC deal against veteran Luis Gurule on the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night 276 (Paramount+) at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. It’s a big moment for Barez (17-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC), who’s closing in on 15 years as a professional MMA career. The 37-year-old is not looking to hang up the gloves, and hopes a solid victory over Gurule (10-3 MMA, 0-3 UFC) could get him a new deal with the promotion.
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“Yes, I need to make this ride last as long as possible,” Barez told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. “You know, and everyone knows the long road I’ve had to take to get here, and we’re finally here. I’ve talked to my manager, and they can tell you thousands of things, but it all depends on this Saturday. After that, we’ll know.”
Barez thinks he’s essentially fighting for his spot on the UFC roster. He not only needs a win, but an impressive one, too.
“Yes, of course,” Barez said. “Totally. It’s obvious. If I can win this next fight, that’s a positive start.”
Despite all that’s at stake, Barez remains collected ahead of one of the more important fights of his career. He’s ready to face whatever comes next.
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“No, no pressure at all,” Barez said. “This fight is actually the fight I have the least amount of pressure. My life won’t change whether I’m in the UFC or not. I have my friends, my family. I have a strong circle, and my life will be the same. I obviously want to be in the UFC and continue fighting in the best promotion in the world. I’m one of the ones that took the longest to sign with UFC, and I finaly made it happen, so I’m going to to everything to get a renewal.”
If Barez gets a new deal with the UFC, he hopes to get a different approach to his career. He signed with the promotion in three years ago and has only fought three times. He competed once in 2023, 2024 and 2025. The Valencia native would like to get more fights moving forward.
“My activity has been sh*t, but due to things outside my control,” Barez said. “Hopefully after getting this next win, which is this Saturday, I want to renew my contract and be more active, fight more often. I haven’t been able to fight due to circumstances outside my control, not because I wanted to.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Daniel Barez hopes to renew contract with win at UFC Vegas 117
