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Josh Barnett signs multi-fight contract with Strikeforce

3K views 43 replies 23 participants last post by  kantowrestler 
#1 ·
Strikeforce signs Josh Barnett

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/9/13/1685522/josh-barnett-signs-with-strikeforce

Two-time champion and top world-ranked heavyweight superstar Josh "The Babyfaced Assassin" Barnett has signed a multi-fight agreement to compete for world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion STRIKEFORCE.

"STRIKEFORCE is the home of the best heavyweight division in the world and I’m proud to be able to call it my home now," said the 32-year-old Barnett (29-5), an expert in catch wrestling who hails from Seattle, Wash.

"I’m looking forward to competing amongst the greatest fighters in the world and fighting my way to another world title."
 
#2 ·
http://www.mmamania.com/2010/9/13/1685521/josh-barnett-signs-multi-fight#storyjump

NEW YORK (Sept. 13, 2010) – Two-time champion and top world-ranked heavyweight superstar Josh "The Babyfaced Assassin" Barnett has signed a multi-fight agreement to compete for world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion STRIKEFORCE.

"STRIKEFORCE is the home of the best heavyweight division in the world and I’m proud to be able to call it my home now," said the 32-year-old Barnett (29-5), an expert in catch wrestling who hails from Seattle, Wash. "I’m looking forward to competing amongst the greatest fighters in the world and fighting my way to another world title."

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Barnett became the youngest UFC champion in history at age 24 when he scored a second-round TKO (4:35) on MMA legend Randy "The Natural" Couture in Las Vegas, Nev., on March 22, 2002. In his sixth career fight, Barnett submitted wrestling and MMA legend Dan "The Beast" Severn with an armbar in the fourth round (1:21) in Hawaii.



In addition to his achievements in America, Barnett has spent a good portion of his career competing in top tier promotions overseas, including the now defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships in Japan where he notched memorable victories over the likes of Aleksander Emelianenko, Mark Hunt and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

On Oct. 21, 2006, Barnett took part in PRIDE’s first event on U.S. soil, submitting Pawel Nastula with a toe hold in the second round (3:04) at Las Vegas’s Thomas & Mack Center.

In 2008, Barnett competed in another Japanese promotion, Sengoku. After submitting (heel hook) Hidehiko Yoshida in Tokyo on March 5, 2008, Barnett returned to action on May 18, 2008, and earned a unanimous decision over top-ranked rival and fellow American Jeff "The Snowman" Monson.

Barnett signed an agreement to compete in Japan’s DREAM promotion earlier this year. Last March 22, he made his debut with the organization, submitting former K-1 tournament champion and devastating power puncher, "Mighty Mo" Siligia, with a kimura at 4:41 of the first round.

On July 10, Barnett followed up the strong showing with a first-round TKO (punches) over Geronimo dos Santos in the main event of a fight card in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Does anyone still care? Is Fedor/Barnette to late now or will he even stay clean long enough to fight?
 
#3 ·
wow, i think this is very exciting...i would still LOVE to see fedor vs barnett...that would be so awesome, plus id also like to see overeem vs barnett...strikeforce HW division is getting better and better and this will be a nice teste for overeem, lets see if he can actually hang with elite fighters, if he can beat barnett and fedor then thats proof enough that hes ready to be a top 5 in the UFC

since barnett actually signed im guessing that hes clean, he wouldnt be stupid enough to sign just to get caught again...either that or he learned how to cycle:thumb02:
 
#6 · (Edited)
wow, i think this is very exciting...i would still LOVE to see fedor vs barnett...that would be so awesome, plus id also like to see overeem vs barnett...strikeforce HW division is getting better and better and this will be a nice teste for overeem, lets see if he can actually hang with elite fighters, if he can beat barnett and fedor then thats proof enough that hes ready to be a top 5 in the UFC

since barnett actually signed im guessing that hes clean, he wouldnt be stupid enough to sign just to get caught again...either that or he learned how to cycle:thumb02:
lmas, Top 5 in the UFC HW division is a joke, without Cain and JDS that division is seriously nothing, SF HW division is way more stacked with top level fighters. both Cain and JDS would have struggle more rising to the top of the current SF division than they have done at the UFC.

That division is such a joke that only 3 years ago a LHW old man in his mid 40's was able to go up a weight and make the title his only 3 years ago, yea I know the UFC had to cover the reason he was able to do that up claiming he was a Phnom that defined the rules of nature or whatever, truth is the division really is that bad it was easy picking for any half decent fighter, Couture was never even the best LHW never mind HW in the world.

Its not exactly bursting with new talent since then Cain and JDS been the exception, Brock is nothing special ether, he is not exactly the all round well experienced MMA fighting machine that Fedor and Overeem are, there are so many holes in his stand up that you can't exactly call him a well rounded MMA fighter, never mind the best in the world.

If Brock had of been made to clim the ranks of the UFC before been given his shot then he would never of even made it, just so happens that the fights he was given good stylistic match ups to suit his ground style of fighting and was lucky that the Champ himself was a past his prime, half his size ground wrestler, Couture is even a more skilled wrestler than Brock, there was just too much against him in size and age for Brock not to win that fight.

Only real test Brock has had was Carwin, who dished him a 10-8 round before been exposed as a one dimensional Gassed out walking piece of slug.

Brock and his famous decision win over Heath Herring, what a joke, lets stick Herring in the cage with Fedor or Overeem, start the clock and see if he can make it out of the first round.
 
#4 ·
Its a another sweet deal and again adds to the top level on the SF HW division, even if you don't care about Fedor vs Barnett which I personally would look forward to seeing, the HW division at SF is growing past Fedor, I see Fedor as a assert to the division still but there are plenty of other fighters and possible fights in that division right now that I would like to see as much as any Fedor fights, and Barnett just adds to those possible fights.
 
#13 · (Edited)
hard to state facts to any claim that argues the UFC HW division is better than the SF HW division right now, there is a lot more experience in the top level fighters in that division than in the UFC. So I think its a fair statement to call the SF HW division the best HW division in the world.

I would be very surprised if Todd Duffee is not there very soon also, which again keeps the improvement coming.

Sure is a lot more impressive than any signing the UFC have made over the last year, Nelson, Toney, Hunt wow I am so impressed with the UFC's sinings this year to help stack there HW division, NOT
 
#17 ·
i never thought barnett was all that great. he puts on mostly boring fights too, if he uses his wrestling.

his standup isnt that great but at least he bangs. i really could care less about him signing with strikeforce.

put him in with bigfoot and see what happens from there.

I have a theory that ppl sleep on bigfoot cuz he honestly looks like he has downs syndrome or something. Dude can fight. If Barnett can beat him, he is in the mix as far as i am concerned.
 
#20 ·
Barnett is definitely a top HW. He is 29-5 with wins over Randy Couture, Dan Severn, Semmy Schiltx2, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Aleks Emelianenko, Big Nog, Jeff Monson, Pedro Rizzo, and Gilbert Yvel. His 5 losses were to Rizzo, Cro Cop x3, and Big Nog.

He has beaten top contender and there is no shame in losing to the fighters that he has lost to. This is an exciting signing assuming he can stay clean.
 
#19 ·
im not the biggest brock fan in the world but wow what a BS rant.

what HWs has Overeem beaten that make you rank him so much higher than Brock??

Buentello and Rogers??

get real.

Brock has done more in 6 fights than Overeem has HIS ENTIRE CAREER in MMA.

oh, i remember, LOSING to some decent LHWs makes you a GREAT HW!!! Like Brandon Vera!!
 
#21 ·
When you start you MMA career at 19 years old you are going to have some losses along the way, you cant even begin to judge overeem on his past losses as a LHW, you only need to look at the fighter he has become over the course of 45 professional MMA fights, thats as many as Brock (6), Mir (18), JDS (13) and Cain (8) combined btw, lets see there records after 45 fights, you only need to look at the guy to see he has become the real deal.

Werdum is still a really good fighter when he gets his way, much like Frank Mir, only I would say better than Frank Mir.

If you take the SF top 5 and faced them off against the UFC top 5 without making some kind of off balance set up like Cain vs Rogers or JDS vs Werdum, then I would bet SF woudl easily come out on top.

You would have

Brock vs Overeem - Champ vs Champ
Werdum vs Mir - Best BJJ in each division
Carwin vs Rogers - The KO artists
Barnett vs Cain - Wrestlers
Fedor vs JDS - Just class I guess, just the guy left to face Fedor

In that kind of line up, I dare say its more likely to be 5-0 SF than it is for the UFC to win overall.

You ever noticed how many BJJ Brown Belts there are swarming around the UFC from one event to the next, only colour I see recently at SF is Black.
 
#22 ·
I have Barnett ranked as the #10 HW in the world right now personally, not based on what he's done necessarily but just based on how I think he would do if placed against legit competetion. I would love to see Barnett vs. Antonio Silva.
 
#25 ·
Great add on by SF. Imo if they can get Pedro Rizzo, Barnett vs Rizzo 3 isnt a bad fight.
The UFC and SF HW division is somewhat matched.
UFC SF
Lesnar Overeem
Cain Fedor
JDS Silva
Carwin Werdum
Mir Barnett
TBH SF HW's are a bit deeper than the UFC. Accomplishments and Ability wise
UFC Heavyweights have 4 world titles in total (Lesnar 1, Carwin 1, Mir 2)
SF Heavyweights have 6 world titles (Overeem 1, Fedor 3, Silva 1, Barnett 1)
 
#29 · (Edited)
Interesting signing by SF. I'm happy to see the organization bulking up, so to speak. I won't get into how unbelievably, and borderline ignorantly biased Killer Shark is. It's not worth my time. What I will say, however, is that all of his ripping on the UFC HW division, and his never ending talk about how much of a 'joke' Lesnar is is just that. Talk. I'd hate to burst your biased bubble (and the manner in which you write shows no objectivity whatsoever, so don't claim to be impartial in the least), but chances are more than good that Lesnar would beat, with potential ease, the likes of Werdrum, Silva, Rogers, Barnett, and even Overeem (who I happen to be a fan of). The only top SF heavyweight I might show deference to is Fedor, and that's based more on history than anything. I simply cannot see any other as being capable of dealing with Lesnar's style. At all.

I won't get into the other HWs right now. It's all a matter of opinion, and hence, no one will ever win. I'll simply say that both organizations have very interesting and compelling HW divisions, and we should be happy about this, as it allows us some semblance of variety. Why one or two dimwits always has to turn this into a dick measuring contest is beyond me. We're all MMA fans... so why not appreciate what each organization has to offer us? That said, I do know that calling either division a 'joke' is itself a joke. Condescendingly mentioning Roy Nelson yet making no mention whatsoever of Stefan Struve or a potential ground and pound monster in Christian Morecraft shows how little weight your opinions should hold. And acting as though an aging, perhaps over the hill Barnett is somehow this magnificent signing when UFC has much better, much younger variations of the same fighter in Lesnar and Cain is even more ridiculous. This will be all I have to say on the matter, because again, it's opinion. And in your case, it's biased opinion, which I have little time or tolerance for. I'll end with a previous point. Both divisions are talent rich. And both will provide us with some very exciting fights in the future. That's really all that matters.
 
#30 ·
I wonder if Barnett will screw Strikeforce like he did Affliction. How can anybody take Barnett seriously after that fiasco?
 
#31 ·
I can.. Barnett is still a beast. This is a good addition...

Some interesting matches at HW for sure...

Masvidal and Barnett?? Keep pushing Coker. You're building and absolutly excellent roster of competition.:thumbsup:
 
#32 ·
I think its weird that everyone talks about how the heavyweight division used to be so thin and now that a bunch of them are in SF they talk about how deep the division is. WTF?
 
#33 ·
As in "thin" in the world of MMA?

That's easy. They were all scattered. Now they are being consolidated...

Add Herman, Monson and Duffe... and STRIKEFORCES HW division would be freakin nasty..

It's already getting interesting.
 
#34 ·
...Barnett is a good addition. Lots of experience & skill. If Monson gets lured in, a fight between Barnett & Monson would be a very good one. As far as him fighting Fedor, he can't duck him this time. My best regards to the fighter who faces a fresh, refocused Emelianenko...:praise01:
 
#36 ·
Very, very good signing by SF.

Fedor, Alistair, Josh, Werdum, Rogers, Antonio, Arlovski, even Kyle is decent.

SF has some some solid, and in regards to Werdum, Josh, Alistair and Fedor, VERY serious HW talent.

I am excited to see Josh back in the fold.
 
#38 ·
Lavar "Big" Johnson is still floating around the SF HW division as well. Hope he's finally fully recovered. That recovery took alot out of him and it was obvious in the Mahe fight...

But coming back so fast after multiple gunshot wounds showed alot. He's always been a beast. I've been wanting to see Johnson/Arlovski or Rogers for while now..
 
#39 ·
It's a good signing for SF, but can the guy even fight in the US? Doesn't he still need to address the California commission? I'm pretty sure other states will enforce bans on fighters from other states.

Anyway, Barnett didn't look so hot in his last fight and I hope they let him work up a little slowly.

It's kind of ridiculous comparing the SF heavyweight division with the UFC's if only for the reason that the UFC doesn't let their fighters go elsewhere to fight or duck opponents.

Until SF gets a handle on their fighters, don't talk to me about how great the SF heavyweight division is.
 
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