I Still Believe Josh Barnett can become champ again

[Savant21]

I genuinely believe Josh has the skill to defeat anyone at heavyweight. He did get subbed by Rothwell unfortunately, however he underestimated Rothwell's grappling & everyone get's caught. Saying Josh isn't that great of a grappler because he got subbed by an inferior grappler is equivalent to saying Jason DeLucia is a superior grappler to Masakatsu Funaki because he subbed him once or that Bob Sapp is a superior striker to Ernesto Hoost because he knocked him out twice. Even the best grapplers or strikers can get caught by inferior opponents. He's still a world-class grappler & could definitley sub Werdum if they were to ever fight.

That said, I thought he clearly took round 1 but it seemed in the second round he was fading for some reason. I know his Erik was telling him to clinch up with Ben, which is where Josh has always been strong at, but instead he goes for a single & eventually gets caught. He should continued to stick & move & clinch up with Rothwell and try a trip takedown from there but alas no.

Despite his early days as a doughy dude from Seattle, Josh has always been a top 10 heavyweight fighter with a strong (& eventually world-class) ground game, above average striking, physical strength & durability as well. He hasn't taken a lot of punishment in most of his fights, just the Rizzo, Cro Cop, Cormier & Browne losses & that's only 5 fights (clearly ignoring the first Cro Cop fight where he sustained a bizarre shoulder injury). Neither does Josh try to constantly stand & exchange blows with his opponents so his style has lent itself to enable him to compete in the sport for such a long time.

I acknowledge his career is slightly tainted due to being busted thrice for PEDs, however despite that he has consistently shown to be an elite martial artist. In terms of his current standing, he's seemed to lost a lot of his agility & more importantly his motivation (he has claimed that he's not interested in fighting for the belt) plus he can make bank doing films & other ventures like comics I suppose, however I'm sure if he becomes really motivated again somehow he can definitely rise back to the top & reclaim the belt he never lost.

I know there's a lot of Barnett haters on Sherdog & I'll get flamed for this post since a fighter is only as good as their last fight, however I believe Josh has shown consistentcy in his career as well as the fact that he has the skills to defeat anyone at HW. I believe at this point in Josh's career it's all about how motivated he is and proper gameplanning.

 

[Arm Barbarian]

Yeah, Josh on a good night can hang with just about anyone in the division.

 

[ClosetVitorFan]

 

[DeadlyDuddly]

I genuinely believe Josh has the skill to defeat anyone at heavyweight. He did get subbed by Rothwell unfortunately, however he underestimated Rothwell's grappling & everyone get's caught. Saying Josh isn't that great of a grappler because he got subbed by an inferior grappler is equivalent to saying Jason DeLucia is a superior grappler to Masakatsu Funaki because he subbed him once or that Bob Sapp is a superior striker to Ernesto Hoost because he knocked him out twice. Even the best grapplers or strikers can get caught by inferior opponents. He's still a world-class grappler & could definitley sub Werdum if they were to ever fight.

That said, I thought he clearly took round 1 but it seemed in the second round he was fading for some reason. I know his Erik was telling him to clinch up with Ben, which is where Josh has always been strong at, but instead he goes for a single & eventually gets caught. He should continued to stick & move & clinch up with Rothwell and try a trip takedown from there but alas no.

Despite his early days as a doughy dude from Seattle, Josh has always been a top 10 heavyweight fighter with a strong (& eventually world-class) ground game, above average striking, physical strength & durability as well. He hasn't taken a lot of punishment in most of his fights, just the Rizzo, Cro Cop, Cormier & Browne losses & that's only 5 fights (clearly ignoring the first Cro Cop fight where he sustained a bizarre shoulder injury). Neither does Josh try to constantly stand & exchange blows with his opponents so his style has lent itself to enable him to compete in the sport for such a long time.

I acknowledge his career is slightly tainted due to being busted thrice for PEDs, however despite that he has consistently shown to be an elite martial artist. In terms of his current standing, he's seemed to lost a lot of his agility & more importantly his motivation (he has claimed that he's not interested in fighting for the belt) plus he can make bank doing films & other ventures like comics I suppose, however I'm sure if he becomes really motivated again somehow he can definitely rise back to the top & reclaim the belt he never lost.

I know there's a lot of Barnett haters on Sherdog & I'll get flamed for this post since a fighter is only as good as their last fight, however I believe Josh has shown consistentcy in his career as well as the fact that he has the skills to defeat anyone at HW. I believe at this point in Josh's career it's all about how motivated he is and proper gameplanning.

You still believe in Santa Claus don't you ?

 

[Weidman]

I believe in dragons.

 

[BJPenn2012]

Thought this was a Garnett Silk thread

 

[Brock Tober]

I love Josh but believe his days as a potential champ are over.

 

[Hulk Brogan]

yep...in bellator

 

[B-Man]

His performance against Rothwell was disappointing. I think he's coming in too light in his last few fights, he's come in at 239 and 241 recently and I think it's had a negative affect on his game. I'm not all that sure his hearts in it anymore.

 

[sidecheckkick]

HW UFC champs are always coming and going its definitely possible

 

[touchedbyjab]

Past his prime, just subbed by Rothwell. I like Barnett too, but I'm not delusional.

 

[Tier1 Operator]

tl;dr cliffs.....

 

[Flex Plexico]

I love Josh but believe his days as a potential champ are over.

gotta agree here, especially with all this newfangled testing in place, plus all the shots he's absorbed over the years

he could just keep grappling/wrestling and probly do okay financially, at least overseas...

that one shot from the Pedro I fight, my lord. He kinda was out on his feet and looked like he was thinking of a poem for a moment before faux Flair-flopping

EDIT: per usual, I remembered it wrong↓

That one always looked so rough. And then of course those Browne 'bows. Honestly though, he's done a pretty stellar job of avoiding damage considering the division he fights in and the length of time he's fought...

I'm so hesitant to form an opinion on whether or not I think a HW should retire, largely because of the Couture effect. And then Andrei. HW is such an old man's division, but when a fighter finally does lose step, the consequences can be pretty devastating. Such a fine line up there at HW...


none of my business, anyways

 

[Mochan]

Barnett can still be champ. The UFC HW division is in shambles and the belt changes every fight or every other fight anyway. All you need is a good run. Heck if Werdum can be champ, Barnett surely can.

 

[CatchnShoot]

In Rizin/One FC, and MAYBE (but not likley) Bellator. Heart for days, but he's done.

 

[RNC&Poke]

yep...in bellator

You beat me to it.

 

[fightdonttweet]

No. Even before Rothwell submitted him he got outwrestled by Big fucking Country. Neither his wrestling nor his striking are on par with the top guys.

 

[Glumberjack]

I doubt it. Heavyweight is notoriously thin on contenders and there are fighters in the top 10 who he matches up favorably against, but he's going to have to put together at least two top ten victories to even get a title shot, plus then he'll of course have to knock off whoever the champion happens to be. I like Josh and I bet on and wanted him to win against Rothwell, but that loss really set him back. I'd like to see Barnett fight the winner of Gonzaga and Magomedov next.

 

[Thepaintbucket]

He could, since the HW division is tiny, but it's unlikely. He's simply not active enough and he's getting slow and old. Being active in MMA is one of the most important things to do. You can't fight once a year and expect to be sharp and on your game.

 

[tasticles]

I genuinely believe Josh has the skill to defeat anyone at heavyweight. He did get subbed by Rothwell unfortunately, however he underestimated Rothwell's grappling & everyone get's caught. Saying Josh isn't that great of a grappler because he got subbed by an inferior grappler is equivalent to saying Jason DeLucia is a superior grappler to Masakatsu Funaki because he subbed him once or that Bob Sapp is a superior striker to Ernesto Hoost because he knocked him out twice. Even the best grapplers or strikers can get caught by inferior opponents. He's still a world-class grappler & could definitley sub Werdum if they were to ever fight.

That said, I thought he clearly took round 1 but it seemed in the second round he was fading for some reason. I know his Erik was telling him to clinch up with Ben, which is where Josh has always been strong at, but instead he goes for a single & eventually gets caught. He should continued to stick & move & clinch up with Rothwell and try a trip takedown from there but alas no.

Despite his early days as a doughy dude from Seattle, Josh has always been a top 10 heavyweight fighter with a strong (& eventually world-class) ground game, above average striking, physical strength & durability as well. He hasn't taken a lot of punishment in most of his fights, just the Rizzo, Cro Cop, Cormier & Browne losses & that's only 5 fights (clearly ignoring the first Cro Cop fight where he sustained a bizarre shoulder injury). Neither does Josh try to constantly stand & exchange blows with his opponents so his style has lent itself to enable him to compete in the sport for such a long time.

I acknowledge his career is slightly tainted due to being busted thrice for PEDs, however despite that he has consistently shown to be an elite martial artist. In terms of his current standing, he's seemed to lost a lot of his agility & more importantly his motivation (he has claimed that he's not interested in fighting for the belt) plus he can make bank doing films & other ventures like comics I suppose, however I'm sure if he becomes really motivated again somehow he can definitely rise back to the top & reclaim the belt he never lost.

I know there's a lot of Barnett haters on Sherdog & I'll get flamed for this post since a fighter is only as good as their last fight, however I believe Josh has shown consistentcy in his career as well as the fact that he has the skills to defeat anyone at HW. I believe at this point in Josh's career it's all about how motivated he is and proper gameplanning.

I've been down your path before. Just let it go man. It's over and for the best. I used to think Ken Shamrock could make a come back but after the 6th concussion I lost hope.