It’s been more than 10 years since Josh Barnett last stepped foot in the UFC Octagon, but following his last fight in Strikeforce in January, he could potentially have the chance to return.
The key word is “potentially” because nothing is signed, sealed or delivered at this point in terms of Barnett’s future with Zuffa.
Barnett faces relative unknown Nandor Guelmino at the final Strikeforce show on Jan 12, but then his contractual future remains a mystery.
It’s no secret that Barnett and UFC President Dana White have had a tumultuous relationship in the past, and as of right now there’s no word on if the former UFC heavyweight champion will get a second shot at fighting in the promotion or not.
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“I don’t know, we’ll find out soon though. We’ll see,” White said about Barnett’s future.
While they don’t necessarily have to be best friends to work together, White is still unsure that he’s willing to bring Barnett into the organization after January.
Friends or not, White does respect Barnett’s fighting skills, and says that when Daniel Cormier beat him earlier in 2012, that was a big win for the former Olympian.
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” What I said was true, the fact that (Daniel Cormier) beat Josh Barnett, that really means something, that’s a big deal,” White said.
It remains to be seen however if Barnett’s future lies in the UFC Octagon or elsewhere after Jan 12 passes.
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I think he should get a chance at a return to the ufc, but for his first fight or two have a fighter on reserve. So if he fails another drug test or any or requirements to his contract they can cut him.
Like him or not, Barnett is still a stern test for a lot of fighters. Jds, Cain, Overeem, Werdum are all interesting match ups.
I think he should get a chance at a return to the ufc, but for his first fight or two have a fighter on reserve. So if he fails another drug test or any or requirements to his contract they can cut him.
Like him or not, Barnett is still a stern test for a lot of fighters. Jds, Cain, Overeem, Werdum are all interesting match ups.
mic skills, charisma, experience, legit threat to just about any heavy weight. Josh Barnett has shown all this assets for years. If the UFC only wants the best fighters in the world then "we'll see" isn't the correct answer. I hope Dana starts to look at putting business before vendetta in 2013.....then again, this IS Dana White......
"I don't call the fighting in my films 'violent', I call it 'action'. An action film borders between fantasy and reality. If I were to be completely realistic in my films, you would call me a violent, bloody man. I would simply destroy my opponent by tearing his guts out. I wouldn't do it so artistically." ~Bruce Lee
For someone who has been a muti time loser to tests. He's a big risk once he gets in with a top 5 as today fighters are tougher than his day and he had to jucie than what about now.
He's easily a top 10 in the UFC in the HW division. He's still very dangerous and would be a great test for the HW's of the UFC.
Honestly Josh is a great measuring stick and if a fighter can beat him, that solidifies that fighters legitimacy.
I agree with everything besides the Bold. To call him "easily" top ten when he hasnt had a top ten win in nearly..what 6 years? Is a bit far fetched imo.
"Could" he beat alot of UFC HWs? Im sure of it, but rankings dont go by what "could" happen, they go by actual accomplishments, And TBH Barnett doesnt have alot of good accomplishments recently...Chaulk it up to whatever you want but Barnetts best win in recent history is Brett Rogers..maybe Sergei. I dont think that automatically puts him above guys like Nelson/Struve/and Bigfoot(who imo are rounding out the bottom top 10 in the UFC)
Agree with everything else though.
On Topic: Id love to see Barnett in the UFC, fighting top ten guys regularly and testing clean while doing it. Theres lots of good matchups with him and hes got solid skills.
Barnett/Nelson is a fights id like to see right now.
For some reason I dont see it happening though.
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Always been a fan of Barnett... aside from his problems with PED's...
He is good in every area, a well rounded fighter... but I do see him as overrated... I still dont see how we can assume he is better than someone like Nog or Mir... Nog/Barnett fights were close and we really didnt see who was the better fighter... they have gone on to fight much different competition, and because Nog has lost some, we assume Josh is better. Rogers and Sergei are both dangerous on the feet, but an easy fight for someone like Josh, or another grappler. Werdum and Nelson could also be better than Josh...
I just never understood it... Josh got beat up by CC a few times, and had a few close fights with Nog... then was somehow supposed to be "Fedor's Biggest Threat"
Josh has always had a very strong top game... but his wrestling isnt at an elite level. He easily gets taken down by the better wrestlers, and struggles to get anyone down with solid TDD imo as far as the better UFC HW's go... His standup is solid... but again, with the company he is being compared to, nothing special. Josh's guard is not a strong point either, as with someone like Nelson... Werdum, Mir, and Nog all have superior guards to Josh's imo...
Josh is clearly a UFC caliber fighter, and a top10 HW... I like the guy, he needs to be in the UFC... but he gets too much credit imo...
I guess you could credit Josh for being part of the reason Affliction went down, maybe that will bring him some favor from Dana.
Dana White Remains Undecided if Josh Barnett Will Come to the UFC or Not 
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