Josh Barnett has always been one of the best mma fighters in the world using his strong grappling abilities. After the scandal with Josh getting caught using anabolic steroids just before his Affliction fight with Fedor very little we have heard from the guy.
There was some mention of him returning to wrestling in Japan. There was some mention that maybe he could fight an MMA fight over there since there is less substances regulation over there. He also seems to have trained with Brett Rogers to prepare him for the Fedor fight he recently had for Strikeforce.
Where is he?
It looks like he is continuing to train and teach in California and took part in the 2009 California Classic BJJ Tournament 2009 where he lost by decision to Romulo Barral the BJJ World Champion and an ADCC veteran. The video I found on youtube you can see below:
Anyway Josh Barnett is a real beast and is a brutal mma warrior. check out this video with him manhandling Quinton Rampage Jackson in training.
Just as the anticipation was mounting with less than two weeks to go before what possibly would have been one of the greatest fights in recent MMA history, Josh Barnett, the contender for the WAMMA belt has tested positive for anabolic steroids. The California State Athletic Commission will not license Josh for the fight and he is likely to be banned for a year with his career to be close to over.
Josh Barnett at 24-5 has recently been considered the number two ranked heavyweight fighter in the world and perhaps the best opponent for Fedor Emelianenko at this time. The match was set for August 1st at the Honda Center in Anaheim for the third installment of Affliction, known as the Trilogy. This was clearly one of the most anticipated bouts this summer for MMA fans and the fight that gave Affliction, the troubled promotion, a chance to survive for another event. (yet perhaps the last)
This is enormously disappointing. Not only has Barnett been caught for using steroids in the past (after the fight with Randy Couture), he has also denied any wrong-doing. It is sad that Josh has effectively lost the chance to prove himself in the most important fight of his life, and in the worst possible way. No matter what Josh says and promises, the steroid story will always be part of his legacy. I feel most sorry for Josh Barnett fans who must be very angry with him.
Right now it is a question who can replace Josh Barnett at such short notice and make the fight, the headline event that so many people have paid to come in see or watch live. So far a number of candidates have been proposed. Lets take a look at the list:
1. Vitor Belfort - initially one of the names, really a middleweight fighter who would have a significant weight disadvantage at185lb (93kg). The Brazilian mixed martial artist is at 18-8, known as "the Phenom" has been preparing for his bout with Jorge Santiago in Affliction.
2. Bobby Lashley - this WWE champion would have been the bout that could potentially generate the dollars. However with only four fights under his belt, Lashley has declined to fight at this time.
3. Brett Rogers - having recently joined many of the MMA heavyweight rankings following his sensational KO of Andrei Arlovski, the former UFC heavyweight champion, this fighter is another possible candidate and perhaps the best fitting.
Rogers, at 10-0 has already got some recognition and having had his last bout a month ago, he may be in decent shape. If so than this could be the best choice.
4. Ricardo Arona - perhaps the only disputed win that Fedor had back in Rings. Arona, the well-known MMA fighter and ADCC champion has not fought since 2007 back in Pride. This raises serious questions and coupled with the fact that he has little recognition in the USA, this could not be the best choice.
Others include Fabricio Werdum (who won't submit Fedor and is coming of a loss), Tito Ortiz and I am sure there will be others like Jeff Monson. Tito Ortiz would be the guy that could surely make the money for Affliction but again we need to find out more about what his conditioning is like. For sure this could be any one of these guys' best chance to fight the MMA king.
Fedor Emelianenko, one of the best judo and sambo fighters turned to MMA for the money in 2000. He shocked the world and today has an incredible record 30-1 with only one technical loss due to a cut.
Despite being known around the world with more videos on youtube than perhaps of any other mma fighter, he unfortunately remains an unknown in his native Russia, except perhaps for his native town in Stary Oskol. In a country where the Ukrainian boxers (the Klitchko brothers) are known by nearly every granny in the country, Fedor remains unknown to almost everyone except the dedicated MMA fans.
Fedor Emelianenko is one of the very few Russian's that have become highly successful in MMA on the world stage. The only other native Russian fighter that in the past held a big MMA title was the UFC champion Oleg Taktarov. Observing the current world mma rankings, the only fighter from Russia in the top-10 is Fedor.
Russia is known for being a country with good sports schools and many exceptional athletes. One example is Alexander Karelin, an incredible Greco-Roman wrestler widely considered the best ever in the sport. Many of the combat sports receive very little media attention. Tennis, soccer, biathlon, ice hockey are very popular. Judo, Sambo and MMA receive very little media attention. Only recently has Boets TV (Fight TV) channel has been launched dedicated to the sport of martial arts.
Despite Vladimir Putin's Judo interests and even personal support for Fedor, the sport remains misunderstood. Media do not provide any air time and today MMA fans are doing a petition to have the Josh Barnett vs Fedor Emelianenko fight aired. It is unbelievable that in a country where most channels are controlled by the state, Fedor's performance is not aired due to expected low ratings. The man promotes Sambo around the world with his invincibility in the ring and such a small gesture cannot be made.
For all Fedor fans out there and Russian MMA, I am writing to say that Fedor, your are one of the greatest heroes in Russia ever and you have all of our support!! Keep it up!
Ok, this is a little of the subject off grappling but I have to post this just for the sake of saying a few words for Fedor and Josh, two incredible grapplers in MMA today.
Affliction: Trilogy is the third installment of MMA events promoted by Affliction Entertainment. Affliction: Trilogy is to take place on the 1st of August 2009 in Anaheim, California at the Honda Center. (same location where the other events took place)
As in the past, the event will feature some of the biggest names in MMA today and the highlight will be between certainly the top heavyweights in the world today, Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko.
Josh Barnett
This guys is a 114kg monster that is 1.91m tall. A catch-wrestler by background with strong submission skills he has defeated a long-list of MMA legends including Randy Couture and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. Holding a record of 24-5-0, 3 of his loses came from Mirko Filipovic Cro Cop. The guy is at his peak right now and is ranked by MMAWeekly.com and MMANews.com as the No. 2 Heavyweight fighter in the world.
Josh Barnett is a very experienced fighter. Having fought in both Japan and in the UFC, he has fought fighters of every style. Having defeated Randy Couture for the UFC Championship belt and been Open Weight King of Pancrase Champion, Josh is a veteran of the sport. We can also see from youtube a video of him wrestling in the ADCC, which just shows how good his grappling really is.
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Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor is the #1 ranked heavyweight in the world today and considered by Inside MMA, the greatest of all time. The Russian is a very well-rounded fighter with a strong judo and sambo background. With a record of 30 wins and one loss (by a cut), Fedor is a phenomenon in the MMA world. His most notable fights include wins against Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko Filipovic.
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There is a lot being said about this great match-up that either way will make history. Both are MMA legends and whatever happens, every remote fan will be glued to the screen on august 1. Both guys I hope will put immense training efforts for this bout and will go down in history as two of the greatest fighters in the sport.
Just one thing I wanted to say about the fighters out there. I think Josh is the best match for Fedor today. Frank Mir is another guy that would be worth seeing in the next fight. The other guys like Lesnar first need to prove themselves. Lets see Lesnar beat Josh Barnett. Josh would dominate Brock and would likely will win by submission in the first or second round.
