It’s been more than two years since the Georgia product last fought, a time filled with injuries, hurricanes and dealing with the loss of his wife in May 2022 while still caring for his two children. But Barnett is not one to dwell on the hard times. In fact, he might be one of the most positive people you’ll meet, so suffice it to say, he’s just happy to be back.

“It’s not that I’ve become lazy or anything, but everything that’s happened with my wife, everyone’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine.’ But things weren’t going well for me. I had to take the time to get to a place where I was actually, I won’t say I believed in myself, but I actually took the time for that mental health, and making sure the kids were straight. My big goal is the babies. So I just took my time with them.

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Understandably, the loss of his wife to encephalitis still hurts, but he has found strength in his 11-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son.

“We went to a company called Kate’s Club, and they do grief counseling and things like that,” Barnett said. “And it’s where children and adults, when they’ve lost a spouse or mother or father, go in and meet each other, talk, and be around people who get it, because so many people are coming forward and saying: “Oh man, I know how you feel,” and it really is? But my children have definitely been the rock for me. That’s supposed to be my job, but at one point I got worried because my daughter said something like, “Hey, you know what? You can get through this.” And I thought: I have to say that to you. (Laughs) But me and my son, especially the first few months, we were just juice suckers, man. It was just a weird wave, and I feel like she (my wife) is still projecting to us through my daughter. That makes it easier to continue as we have been. I asked her straight out, “How do you do that?” She said, “All I can do is think of all the positive things me and mom have done.”