Barry is poised to make his long-awaited UFC debut in Las Vegas

DEAN Barry will make his long-awaited debut in the Ultimate Fighting Champ-ionship when he takes on Mike Jackson at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday.

The 29-year-old put pen to paper on a fresh multi-fight deal with the organisation in January after more than a year’s delay.

From Tallaght, Barry was supposed to make his debut on Fight Island against the part-time fighter, which was cancelled after Jackson withdrew.

The rescheduled bout was once again cancelled and the Team Rhino fighter had some issues obtaining a visa to fight in America.

Needing to stay active, Barry took and later had to withdraw from a fight in Titan FC, a regional promotion contracted to UFC Fight Pass, through injury.

In December, he finally got back in the octagon in a welterweight clash with Drew Lipton at Titan FC and he did not skip a beat, carding a victory by punches just 21 seconds into the first round.

Now, the Dubliner is eagerly anticipating his chance to display his skills on the biggest stage when he throws-down in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Barry made a sensational start to his MMA career against Thomas Tatcher at Shamrock FC in 2017.

At the time, the former Tallaght Martial Arts kickboxer had made the move to Canada and was developing his jiu-jitsu and wrestling skills out of Tristar Gym in Montreal alongside Georges St-Pierre.

Now 4-1, after recording a number of wins by punches and a slick TKO against Corey Samuels, Barry is rearing to go.