264lb heavyweight dances to ring, executes stunning wheelkick KO – then somersaults to celebrate 1st UFC win at age of 35 (VIDEO)

An MMA heavyweight known as 'Beastboy' has insisted he is "mentally 170lb" after belying his vast frame to knock out his opponent with an astonishing wheelkick – earning his first UFC win and an army of new fans along the way.

Also referred to as 'Huggybear', Chris Barnett was making his second appearance in the elite MMA championship, with his maiden outing a second-round submission loss to Ben Rothwell delivered by a guillotine choke at Fight Night 188 in May.

The 35-year-old had a point to prove at New York's Madison Square Garden on Saturday when he featured in the preliminaries at UFC 268, which was headlined by Kamaru Usman's thrilling points win over Colby Covington for the welterweight strap.  

Facing Gian Villante, he bided his time through the first round and half of the second to set up a stunning roundhouse kick KO that caught his foe completely off guard.

Finishing his fellow American off with a series of blows until the ref stepped in, Barnett caught just as much attention for his somersault flip – not his first, as a cursory glance of his Instagram page shows – that somehow saw the 264lb man land on his backside yet still appear graceful. 

Barnett also showed gracious respect to his floored opponent, who originates from the eastern suburbs of Long Island and was participating in his final fight in front of a hometown crowd.

"My man right here, two-week-old [baby] at home," Barnett said in his post-fight interview.

"He's about to retire, excellent football coach, got another son that's 22 months.

"This is his town, this is his place, y'all stand up, cheer for my man. This might have been his last one, but this ain't. He's going to be riding with me from now on."

Barnett explained how he does his research on his opponents to try to gain an edge, but was unable to dig up any dirt on Villante, whose high school football kids also got in touch with Barnett.

MMA stattos clocked that Barnett had broken a record in taking 4,578 days from his debut in the sport to earning a win in the UFC.

Clearly in good spirits, the Tampa native danced on his way into the octagon, busted out his moves in the ring after Joe Rogan had finished speaking to him.

He then gyrated his way out of the setting, pleasing the likes of former 'champ champ' Daniel Cormier.

"Nastyboy can move man," claimed the pundit. At a press conference later, Barnett explained his frame of mind and how he maintains his carefree nature.

Mentally, he believes he is "only 170 lbs"  – almost 100 less than his true weight.

"You can say whatever you want," he said. "The scales can say whatever they want. "I'm 170, OK? So you can't tell me nothing."