Irish Whip Fighting Exclusive: Josh Barnett Interview

MMA star Josh Barnett is considered one of "The 5 Men Who Can Beat Fedor" by many. Hear him talk about Fedor, the UFC, and his friend Babalu.

Irish Whip Fighting: When can we expect to see you fighting again?

Josh Barnett: The nearest I can think of is the Imagination TV show Pancrase: Legends of MMA. You can catch some of my matches there on November 7th for 15 weeks. But for some live in the ring action, I'm talking to some companies right now and we've got some things on the table. But there's nothing that's absolute, nothing to say that I'll be definitely fighting at a certain time.

IWF: Can you tell us any of those organizations that you're currently looking at?

JB: Umm…all of them (laughs).

IWF: Is there any chance that you could wind up back in UFC someday?

JB: There's always a chance. It's just about the right offer, that's all.

IWF: How soon?

JB: The UFC? I don't know, maybe you should call Dana up and ask him (laughs).

IWF: Why is there such a big conflict between you and Dana?

JB: When I think somebody says something that's BS, or if I think that something isn't being done up to par, then I say something. That's probably why. I've been in this business longer then he has, and there's just a certain amount of respect that I expect, and I don't necessarily feel like I get that from him all of the time. He says some things and that's fine. He's allowed to make any statements he wants; I'm going to make a rebuttal. It's up to him if he wants to get real torqued off about it, not me.

IWF: What do you think about your friend Renato Sobral being kicked out of UFC?

JB: I think it was totally lame. I think it was a totally BS deal. I think it was unnecessary to the level at what they did. I don't think it follows any of the protocol that is standard for other situations like this. And I think that there was other motivation behind it

IWF: People have done worse things in the cage then his choke. I know that B.J. Penn's choke on Jens Pulver was longer then Sobral's on Heath, and B.J. didn't get punished at all.

JB: No he didn't, and the only difference being Jens didn't go out. That's the only thing that I can see, but beyond that all I've heard is that they hugged after word. But David Heath on his way out said he respected Babalu, he had a lot of respect for him. So what's the difference there?

IWF: What punishment do you think Renato should've gotten?

JB: They had to punish him? Some sort of a fine if they had to, but not to that extent.

IWF: You've been known to speak Japanese and even use a Japanese theme as your entrance. Can you talk a little about the connection you have with your Japanese fans?

JB: Um…a psychic link…

IWF: Haha, can you elaborate?

JB: Yeah, I just really enjoy the culture. I really enjoy other cultures all around the world. And I think that knowing more then one language is a really rich thing to have in someone's life. I think that we've just clicked. Being on the level of nerdom that I'm on, it really talks to them. I love fighting over there, and I love the great positive vibes that I get from the Japanese fans.

IWF: In the first issue of FIGHT! Magazine, you were listed as one of the 5 people who could possibly beat Fedor. Why do you think your paths have never crossed?

JB: At this point it's the same reason why I haven't gotten into the ring yet, just politics and contract stuff. But right now it's not my fight. My management is out there doing stuff, not me, but we'll get it done.

IWF: If given the opportunity, how do you feel you would match up?

JB: I think that I'd match up pretty well with him. I'd be surprise if anybody else could do much going against Fedor. But there's an x-factor in that we're friends and that we respect each other so much, which will bring better fighting spirit out of both of us.

IWF: You've beaten everyone from Couture to Big Nog. What's the biggest win of your career?

JB: Yuki Kondo. I won the King of Pancrase with that win, it was in Ryogoku, and I had all my teammates from New Japan Pro Wrestling there. It was just an awesome thing.

IWF: Do you think that you could defeat current UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture?

JB: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think I could finish him in two rounds more or less, but not because he won't be out there doing his thing. It'll be a big fight, but I think our styles favor me. But he's doing really well for himself, and it's fun to watch him out there and to cheer for him. And if it does ever happen then I'll have to put the fan in me aside and just go out there and take care of business.

IWF: You're a well-known critic of the 10-point system, and lately, we've been seeing that come under fire with some questionable decisions or rounds that would be scored 10-8. Can you talk a little about that?

JB: Part of the biggest problem in MMA right now is that the submission isn't given a lot of weight in the United States. That's a huge detriment to me. I think that MMA fights should be judged on not so much control, but who comes closest to finishing a fight. If you are scoring knockdowns, mounted positions raining sizeable punches that are causing damage, or near submissions; that should count a lot more then just taking down someone a lot. Not to mention just going for a submission means you're trying to finish the fight. People that are just on top picking away isn't trying to finish a fight. They should be rewarded as such. I think that the PRIDE system was really the best system. And off course the human err factor comes into it as well. Sometimes people make mistakes when they're judging. People are going to disagree with the judges, and that's something that people are going to have to deal with. But those criteria that I mentioned before are the most important.

IWF: Did you find competition in PRIDE or UFC to be tougher?

JB: When I fought there definitely PRIDE.

IWF: Why is that?

JB: I don't know, at the time they were just better fighters, they were better athletes, and they were better fights. Whether they're having success outside of PRIDE is another thing, but at the time they were the cream of the crop.

IWF: Well the PRIDE fighters aren't doing very well in the UFC. Why do you think this is?

JB: I don't know, maybe all of that money that they're making now is allowing them to party all the time. I've been really surprised with some of these fights that I've seen. I have no idea.

IWF: We're doing a story in which we pit Legends against Current stars and ask other MMA fighters how they see the bout going down if the Legend was in his prime. Could you please comment on:

Dan Severn vs. Randy Couture

JB: Well I think that early on Severn would take him down and have most of the control, but eventually I think that Randy's standup could take Severn, and Randy could go into later rounds. He would wear Dan out and outwrestle him as well. I'd say Couture via TKO or a decision.

IWF: Rickson Gracie vs. Frank Shamrock

JB: Frank Shamrock beats the crap out of him.

IWF: Mirko Cro Cop vs. Brock Lesnar

JB: Versus who?! Brock Lesnar? What is Brock's prime? Have we seen it yet? I think that we can expect a lot out of Brock Lesnar. He's training under Erik Paulson's CSW instructor Greg Nelson who's an incredible coach. He's got a great mind when it comes to fighting. Brock is going to get exponentially better, this I can promise. But for right now I'd say that Mirko mows him over with a KO.

IWF: In a second section, we're pitting a guy with no MMA training against a Legend and asking how the fight would go down if the first guy received complete MMA training. Obviously, these are a bit more fun and less scientific. Could you please comment on:

Bruce Lee vs. Fedor

JB: Fedor all the way. Bruce Lee was a really well-rounded fighter for his time. He was very agile, athletic, and very explosive. But he just didn't have the developed ground game that Fedor does. Bruce Lee is a Seattle guy too, so I hate to pick against him.

IWF: Chuck Norris vs. Chuck Liddell

JB: Well Chuck Liddell is a D-1 wrestler, so if he has to he can take the fight to the ground. But if he decides not to like with Jardine, then it's hard to say. I'd say a draw.

IWF: Muhammad Ali vs. Royce Gracie

JB: So Muhammad Ali gets MMA training?

IWF: Yes.

JB: He does. Okay I say Muhammad Ali by sprawl and brawl decision. But choose another boxer not as quick, and I think Royce Gracie cranks the crap out of him.

IWF: Do you have anything to say to your fans?

JB: If you want to keep up with what I'm doing then just check out www.joshbarnett.tv. You'll find out more about the fighters I'm working with and when they're fighting. Just everything to do with Josh Barnett in general.