Joshua Lawrence Barnett was born on November 10,1977 and is an American mixed martial artist, submission wrestler, professional wrestler and color commentator currently signed to Bellator MMA.
83 Facts About Josh Barnett
2.
In 2003, Josh Barnett was the final Openweight King Of Pancrase and was a finalist in both the 2006 PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix and the 2012 Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship Grand Prix.
3.
Josh Barnett has competed in Affliction, World Victory Road, DREAM and Impact FC.
4.
In submission grappling, Josh Barnett was a World No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Champion in 2009, the inaugural Metamoris Heavyweight Champion in 2014, and a Catch Wrestling World Champion in 2018.
5.
In January 2015, Josh Barnett began working as a color commentator for NJPW's weekly program on America's AXS TV.
6.
Josh Barnett was put into anger management programs at a young age and learned to cope with his anger by participating in athletics.
7.
Josh Barnett attended Ballard High School, where he excelled at wrestling, football, and trained in judo and Muay Thai.
8.
Josh Barnett had originally attended the University of Montana to play football for the school as a walk-on, but decided to pursue fighting instead.
9.
At the recommendation of an instructor at Montana, Josh Barnett went to train at the Bushidokan dojo of Jim Harrison.
10.
Josh Barnett accepted the fight with less than two weeks notice while home for winter break after being contacted by organizer Matt Hume, his former high school wrestling coach, and won by submission via rear-naked choke in under three minutes.
11.
Josh Barnett started training in catch wrestling and no-holds-barred with Hume's AMC Pankration team to prepare for his next fight.
12.
Josh Barnett was required to pass an evaluation involving conditioning, training, and an interview to join AMC.
13.
Subsequent to his win over Hoffman, Josh Barnett tested positive for banned substances and was given a warning by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
14.
Josh Barnett was then given a title shot for the UFC Heavyweight Championship against then-champion and future UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture at UFC 36.
15.
Josh Barnett won via TKO after using the ground and pound technique to become the youngest-ever UFC Heavyweight Champion.
16.
Josh Barnett competed in MMA in both PRIDE and Pancrase in Japan.
17.
Josh Barnett's first fight back post-injury was a rematch against Cro Cop at PRIDE 30, which he lost by a unanimous decision.
18.
Josh Barnett came back with a win against Kazuhiro Nakamura at PRIDE 31.
19.
Josh Barnett was scheduled to fight Pride World Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko for the title but withdrew from the fight due to an appendicitis.
20.
Josh Barnett underwent surgery to remove his appendix later that night.
21.
Josh Barnett later beat Alexander Emelianenko by an americana submission in the second round of the PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix at PRIDE Total Elimination Absolute.
22.
Josh Barnett submitted Mark Hunt via kimura in the first round of the Openweight Grand Prix at Pride Critical Countdown Absolute.
23.
Josh Barnett defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by split decision in the semi-finals of the Openweight Grand Prix, however he lost the final match of the PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute to Cro Cop on September 10,2006, submitting after an unintentional finger poke to the eye.
24.
Josh Barnett said, you know, 'Sorry' and I said to him that he was winning that night and it was an accident.
25.
Josh Barnett reversed Nastula from the bottom and was able to secure a toe-hold submission, which earned him the victory.
26.
At a post-fight press conference, Josh Barnett complimented Nastula on his performance.
27.
Josh Barnett then lost a rematch by unanimous decision to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at Pride Shockwave 2006.
28.
Josh Barnett did not follow many other PRIDE veterans to the UFC because he desired to join an organization that included the top Heavyweight fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko.
29.
In 2008, Josh Barnett joined the newly organized MMA promotion, Sengoku, and fought in consecutive main events at Sengoku 1 and Sengoku 2, submitting Hidehiko Yoshida with a heel hook in the third round, and defeating Jeff Monson by unanimous decision.
30.
Josh Barnett participated in the inaugural MMA event held by Affliction Entertainment, in July 2008.
31.
In January 2009, Josh Barnett fought PRIDE veteran Gilbert Yvel at Affliction: Day of Reckoning.
32.
Josh Barnett defeated Yvel by a submission resulting from strikes in the third round.
33.
Dana White announced if Josh Barnett were to defeat Emelianenko, he would sign him back into the UFC and would grant him a title shot against UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.
34.
However, the fight was officially pulled 10 days before the fight by the California State Athletic Commission after Josh Barnett tested positive for anabolic steroids for a third time.
35.
Josh Barnett requested that they test his "B" sample hoping there was an error in the test.
36.
Josh Barnett was a no-show at his hearing on February 22,2010, making this the fourth delay in his appeal.
37.
Josh Barnett claimed he was unaware that his presence was required, but the CSAC stated they had notified him of this months before.
38.
Josh Barnett signed to fight for DREAM in 2010, and made his debut on March 22,2010 at DREAM 13 against Mighty Mo.
39.
Josh Barnett won the fight via submission in the first round.
40.
On September 13,2010 it was announced that Josh Barnett had signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce.
41.
Josh Barnett faced Brett Rogers on June 18,2011 at Strikeforce: Overeem vs Werdum in the opening round of a Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament.
42.
Josh Barnett submitted Rogers with an arm triangle choke in the second round of the bout.
43.
Josh Barnett defeated Sergei Kharitonov in the semi-final of the tournament headlining Strikeforce: Josh Barnett vs Kharitonov on September 10,2011 at US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
44.
Josh Barnett faced fellow finalist Daniel Cormier on May 19,2012 at Strikeforce: Barnett vs Cormier to determine the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion.
45.
In January 2013, Josh Barnett faced a promotional newcomer, Nandor Guelmino, at Strikeforce: Marquardt vs Saffiedine, the final Strikeforce event.
46.
Josh Barnett defeated Guelmino via arm triangle choke submission in the first round.
47.
However, on May 21,2013, it was announced that Josh Barnett had returned to the UFC and signed a multi-fight contract with the promotion.
48.
Josh Barnett faced former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir on August 31,2013 at UFC 164.
49.
Josh Barnett won the fight in the first round by technical knockout.
50.
Josh Barnett faced Travis Browne on December 28,2013 at UFC 168.
51.
Josh Barnett lost the fight via knockout due to elbow strikes in the first round.
52.
Josh Barnett won the fight via unanimous decision.
53.
Josh Barnett faced Ben Rothwell on January 30,2016 at UFC on Fox 18.
54.
Josh Barnett lost the fight in the second round due to a guillotine choke, resulting in the first loss due to a submission hold during Barnett's lengthy MMA career.
55.
Josh Barnett next faced Andrei Arlovski on September 3,2016 at UFC Fight Night 93.
56.
Josh Barnett won the fight via rear naked choke submission in the third round, earning a Performance of the Night bonus.
57.
In March 2018, Josh Barnett was clear to fight and received a "public reprimand" instead of a suspension from USADA after it was determined that his failed test was the result of a contaminated supplement.
58.
On June 20,2018, Josh Barnett was granted his request to be released from UFC, claiming he does not trust the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
59.
Josh Barnett was expected to make his promotional debut against Ronny Markes on December 20,2019 at Bellator's Salute the Troops event in Honolulu, Hawaii, but was deemed unable to compete due to severe illness on the night of the event.
60.
The bout was rescheduled for Bellator 241 on March 13,2020, but Josh Barnett failed medical tests and was replaced by Matt Mitrione.
61.
Josh Barnett competed against former KSW Heavyweight Champion Marcin Rozalski in a bare-knuckle boxing match with elbows allowed on October 23,2020, thanks to coming to an agreement with Bellator.
62.
Josh Barnett defeated Rozalski by TKO via doctor stoppage after the second round.
63.
Josh Barnett began his overseas career as a professional wrestler in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling organization, where he wrestled numerous matches in 2003 and 2004.
64.
Josh Barnett wrestled over 50 matches in total for the NJPW promotion.
65.
In January 2015, Josh Barnett began working as a color commentator for NJPW's weekly program on AXS TV.
66.
In 2022, Josh Barnett began appearing on NJPW Strong occasionally wrestling.
67.
Josh Barnett debuted in Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation wrestling promotion in June 2007 with a victory over Tadao Yasuda.
68.
Josh Barnett racked up victories against Don Frye and Montanha Silva before suffering his first loss against Naoya Ogawa.
69.
Josh Barnett was scheduled to face Jerome Le Banner for the IGF Heavyweight Championship in a tournament final scheduled for August 27 at the IGF Super Stars Festival 2011.
70.
On New Year's Eve, Josh Barnett made his return to Japan for the Fight for Japan event, where he would face Hideki Suzuki in an IGF Rules match.
71.
Josh Barnett returned to IGF on April 5,2017, defeating Shinichi Suzukawa on the promotion's inaugural Next Exciting Wrestling event.
72.
Josh Barnett would go on to defeat Chris Dickinson in the main event.
73.
Josh Barnett competed in the California Classic 2009 Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament on November 15,2009 in the black belt gi absolute division.
74.
Josh Barnett first beat future world champion Otavio Sousa but lost a decision to IBJJF world champion and ADCC veteran Romulo Barral.
75.
Josh Barnett became the first person in sixteen years to defeat Lister via submission, tapping Lister with a scarf hold in the waning seconds of the match.
76.
On November 2,2018, at the Catch Wrestling World Championships hosted by The Snake Pit Wigan, Josh Barnett would compete and win the 100+ kg super heavyweight division.
77.
Josh Barnett was introduced to the discipline while training for his second professional fight with Matt Hume's team at AMC Pankration.
78.
Josh Barnett's grappling technique is based on catch, utilizing the controls, rides and pinning holds from said discipline to exert pressure over his opponent and grind him down when the fight gets to the ground.
79.
Josh Barnett has shown the ability to enhance his striking with catch wrestling, using collar ties and wrist grips to set up elbows and knees against the fence.
80.
Josh Barnett is a self-proclaimed cinephile and cites the final cut of Blade Runner as his favorite motion picture.
81.
Josh Barnett plays and is a fan of the card game Magic: The Gathering.
82.
Josh Barnett was dubbed the 'Baby-Faced Assassin' early in his career due to his youthful appearance and dominance, with the moniker staying with him into his 30s.
83.
Josh Barnett is a noted heavy metal fan, and has used Bolt Thrower as entrance music during his MMA career.