MMA HQ – Mixed Martial Arts News and Analysis

Ever since last Saturday nights UFC 74: Respect event, Josh Barnett has one again managed to put himself near the top of the MMA world’s discussion list.

First, Barnett was a corner man for Renato Sobral in his fight against David Heath. We all know what happened in that fight and that Babalu has since been released from his UFC contract. I really haven’t commented at all on the whole Babalu ordeal, but I think Zach Arnold sums it up nicely, so I’ll let my good friends on FightOpinion.com speak for me:

You can get fired in UFC if you display a lapse in judgment or bad behavior, but if you get busted for steroids or are Dana White’s best friend in the whole world you likely won’t or may not get fired.

Now, back to Josh Barnett. For those of you not familiar with Barnett and his MMA background, let’s review a little. Barnett began his career in Superbrawl before making his UFC debut in late 2000. At UFC 36 in March of 2002, Barnett defeated then UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture by strikes in the second round to capture the UFC heavyweight title.

Barnett’s reign as champ was shortlived, however, as he was stripped of his belt for a positive steroid test before he was ever able to defend the belt. After his dismissal from the UFC, Barnett made his way over to Japan and had a pretty successful career in PrideFC.

Now, back to the current day. After being at UFC 74 and watching the Couture vs Gonzaga match, Barnett has this to say on his personal MySpace.com blog:

Let’s get straight to it and say that Randy did a phenomenal job at UFC 74 in defending his title. As a fan and a fellow Washingtonian I was happy to see him win. But as for the title itself — it still sits in my house. No one in UFC ever beat me for it, and as far as I am concerned, no one in the UFC can be the heavyweight champion until they take that belt off of me in the cage.

At the post fight press conference, Dana White said “there isn’t anyone in the world that can beat this guy” in reference to Randy. All this because Randy beat a guy that had less than ten fights and only one noteworthy win? That’s not even a world championship level fight, let alone reason to proclaim the winner as “unbeatable”. This comment was made even more ridiculous by the fact that I was standing right there, living proof that Randy Couture is definitely beatable.

“Unbeatable”, Dana says. If he actually believes that, I’m more than willing to step into the cage and prove him wrong. It wouldn’t even have to be for the belt. I already got the real belt. They can keep their pile of brass they purport as the UFC Heavyweight Title and put it on their next paper champ.

Pretty strong words from Barnett, although Josh has never been one to hold back his words or not speak his mind. This past Thursday during the UFC 75: Champion vs Champion conference call, Dana White was asked about Barnett’s comments. White had this to say:

Nobody gives a s*** about Josh Barnett, especially not me.

Pretty typical response from Dana White, if you ask me. Following the UFC 75 conference call, Sam Caplan from FightOuncesofPain.com called Josh Barnett and interviewed him to get his reaction and discuss the whole UFC situation with him. Barnett had some interested words in discussing his status with the UFC and any negotiations that have happened or are currently underway.

“I was not negotiating with the UFC at the time of the comments but I can’t really talk about all the negotiations that I’ve been involved with and will be involved with at this point,” he answered.

When asked if he felt there was still a chance he could sign with the UFC, Barnett didn’t rule it out.

“I could always sign with the UFC,” responded Barnett. “It’s only a matter of making things work right for the both of us.”

Furthermore, Barnett doesn’t believe he burned a bridge with the UFC with the negative comments he made towards Couture.

“You don’t burn bridges with Dana,” the youngest heavyweight champion in UFC history stated. “If you can make him money, he puts you in there. If he thinks he’s going to get rich, he uses you or in some instances he has his guys that he calls his ‘boys,’ or whatever. He knows where his bread is buttered and if he sees green — it’s a go. Randy got an instant title shot coming out of retirement. You know why? Because he saw green.

Some very good points from Josh and also some interested wording of his responses. Barnett his the nail on the head when he accurately points out that if you can make Dana White and the UFC money, then there will always be a place for you within the Zuffa organization. The real question that remains is, can Barnett be a viable money-maker in the UFC?

I believe he can be, simply because he can compete at a high level and has the attitude and marketing prowess that thrives in the US. Unfortunately, Barnett probably is a relative unknown name with the current UFC crowd. That really doesn’t mean a thing however, as the UFC marketing machine can turn anyone they want into a star.

While Sam Caplan’s interview with Barnett would leave a glimmer of hope that Barnett may sign with the UFC in the future, my gut tells me that is won’t happen. When you get on Dana White’s burn list, you are there forever. For some reason, it appears that Barnett is on that list. While I would love to see Barnett added to an already star-studded UFC heavyweight division, I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for it to happen.