[3] Barberena was born in Montclair, California, but grew up in Rancho Cucamonga, where he moved with his parents at a young age.
He later attended Prescott High School, after moving to Arizona during his sophomore year where he played football and was a standout as a linebacker.
His father is originally from Cali, Colombia, and Barberena has stated he feels both American and Colombian.
Barberena begin his professional mixed martial arts career in late 2009 with an amateur record of 1–0.
Over the next five years he trained primarily at the MMA Lab in Arizona and amassed a record of 9–2 for promotions such as Dakota Fighting Championships and King of the Cage; all but one of his wins came before the final bell.
[6] In his third fight for the promotion, Barberena filled in as a short notice replacement for Andrew Holbrook against Sage Northcutt at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs.
Once again a substantial underdog, Barberena won the fight by unanimous decision after withstanding the initial storm.
[17] Barberena was expected to face Jake Ellenberger on June 1, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 131.
[28] Barberena was expected to face Daniel Rodriguez on November 14, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos.
[29] However, Barberena underwent an emergency laparotomy a week before the event due to "internal bleeding from a couple ruptured arteries in his omentum" and was sidelined indefinitely.
[34] However, Brown forced out of the bout due to testing positive for Covid-19,[35] and he was replaced by Darian Weeks.
[45] Barbarena, as a replacement for Daniel Rodriguez, faced Gunnar Nelson on March 18, 2023, at UFC 286.