Josh Barnett to Daniel Cormier: ‘Stay at heavyweight, that’s where the money is’

Sakara=Excitement · 01-17-2013, 05:02 PM

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While Josh Barnett is waiting to see if he will get his chance to "wreck shop" in the ranks of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) after his annihilation of Nandor Guelmino this past weekend (Jan 12, 2013), he isn't shy about giving his thoughts on the current landscape of the heavyweight division.

It is, after all, the weight class that garners the most interest and attention from fight fans according to "The Warmaster" himself.

Having competed in land of the big men his entire mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting career, winning the UFC heavyweight championship by defeating Randy Couture at UFC 36 back in 2002, Barnett knows a thing or two about banging it out with the best the division has to offer and just how lucrative it can be.

That's why he believes it would be in the best interest of Daniel Cormier, who has confirmed he intends to drop down to the light heavyweight division and "kick ass," to stay put right where he is.

Sorry, Jon Jones.

Josh had this to say to Bloody Elbow:

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"I don't know. I would stay at heavyweight if I was him. At the end of the day, the one they want to see with the belt around their waist, the ones the fans want to see, are the heavyweights. That's where the money is. That's where the interest lies."

There is no doubt there are plenty of intriguing and big payday fights for "DC" at 265 pounds (starting with Frank Mir in April), however, a bout against the UFC's 205-pound champion, Jones, would likely fatten Cormier's piggy bank, as well.

Speaking of big men, on Feb. 2, 2013, two of the biggest men in the sport of MMA will collide in Las Vegas, Nevada as Alistair Overeem looks to secure his title shot against Cain Velasquez by attempting to defeat Antonio Silva at UFC 156.

According to Barnett, "The Reem" should have little issues connecting his powerful hay makers on "Bigfoot" thanks to the massive Brazilian's head movement, or lack thereof:

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"Alistair will probably get the knockout in the first round. I think that those are two, 'go big' heavyweights, and I just think that Alistair has a good amount of size and a better reach, which will be great for him in setting up the shots against Bigfoot, who doesn't have the best head movement. Being in the middle of Alistair's fire power is a bad place to be for him."

As the former PRIDE FC standout waits to see just who and where he will fight next (perhaps here), he knows he can scratch Bellator off his list after company CEO Bjorn Rebney said he's not interested in bringing "The Baby Faced Assassin" into the fold.

Perhaps the potential hefty price tag that comes along with the services of a "mercenary" like Barnett, spooked him away.

Y2JUBAE · 01-18-2013, 04:04 PM

In the 80s that was true but since Mike Tyson fell off, people started taking notice of the other weight divisions in combat sports.

Jones is the biggest payday in mma right now for Daniel because I doubt he can get down to MW or WW to fight Anderson or GSP.

roaddawg · 01-18-2013, 07:52 PM

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Originally Posted by Y2JUBAE

In the 80s that was true but since Mike Tyson fell off, people started taking notice of the other weight divisions in combat sports.

Jones is the biggest payday in mma right now for Daniel because I doubt he can get down to MW or WW to fight Anderson or GSP.

To me the lhw and fw are the most interesting divisions.

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