Strikeforce signs Heavyweight stalwart, Josh Barnett

[pumpt73]

Hmmmm, now that SF has brought Barnett back to the US, makes me wonder if they'll go after Duffee to shore up the division a tad more??? Either way, I love it. Barnett can still fight. Still one of the best 265lbers most newer fans don't know about.


source: www.mmajunkie.com


Former UFC champion and longtime top-10 heavyweight Josh Barnett has inked a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce, officials today announced.

Terms of the deal and a debut date were not disclosed.

The 32-year-old fighter enters the organization with an overall 26-5 mark and a current six-fight win streak that includes victories over the likes of Jeff Monson, Pedro Rizzo, Gilbert Yvel and Geronimo dos Santos.

He now joins a solid Strikeforce heavyweight roster that includes champ Alistair Overeem, top contender Fabricio Werdum, notable Fedor Emelianenko and others.

"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," Barnett stated. "I'm looking forward to competing among the greatest fighters in the world and fighting my way to another world title."

During his 14-year pro career, Barnett has fought in nearly every major organization, including the UFC, PRIDE, Affliction, World Victory Road and DREAM. In 2002, the then-24-year-old fighter became a UFC heavyweight champ with a win over Randy Couture, though he was later stripped of the title due to failing a drug test.

Recently, he's been appealing another failed drug test that occurred during his licensing process for a 2009 Affliction fight with Emelianenko. The fight, though, never happened, and after numerous delays, the appeal process still remains unresolved, as MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently reported.

 

[Colin Gimp]

"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," Barnett stated. "I'm looking forward to competing among the greatest fighters in the world and fighting my way to another world title."

Strikeforce is really pushing for a dominant HW divison and this certainly helps. He must of skipped the UFC since they werenèt planning on giving him a road to the title or something. That quote more or less is a shot at the UFC. Junior Dos Santos and Brock Lesnar are certainly shaking their heads at that statement. But if you look how one dimensional most of the UFC HW fighters are he;s got a point. Like cmon our last championship fight a rookie to the sport made the more educated move in the fight. Barnett must of lost sleep over that. UFC must of not wanted to give him a headline. He must want to fight Brett Rogers then face the winner of the Werdum fedor rematch (is that even announced, i know its inevitable)

Only reason i can see why UFC didn;t want to take him is because of the Shane Carwin horse steroid allegations and how their beautifully sculpted 270 pound champion was able to take everything he had and then dish it out. They took sean sherk back. But I guess descisions like that would be bad for legalizingthe sport around the world.

 

[pumpt73]

Thing is, Barnett has been floating around ever since PRIDE closed it's doors. The UFC really never pursued him before. Also by signing with Strikeforce it opens up the possiblity of getting a fight that he always wanted, but never got, Fedor Emelianenko. Add in Overeem and Werdum, and it's looking like PRIDE reunion. I don't know if he wanted to go to UFC, but considering 4 of his 5 losses have come to current UFC fighters in CroCop (whose defeated Barnett 3 times) and once by Little Nog, I would think that if he wanted to get a revenge bout, it probably woudn't have happened. Considering Little Nog is at 205, and I don't see him stepping up a weight, and CroCop is in a title eliminator. Who knows. Good signing for SF. Definitely helps shore up their 265 division. I think he's got Fedor on his mind.