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Josh Barnett: Hey, a fight with Andrei Arlovski sounds good to me

By Zach Arnold | September 16, 2010

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From The Score radio on Mauro Ranallo’s Fight Show on Tuesday:

MAURO RANALLO: “Josh, why did you sign with Strikeforce?”

JOSH BARNETT: “Uh, why not?”

MAURO RANALLO: “Well, why now? Why now?”

JOSH BARNETT: “Um… Honestly, it was because there was a good deal in place. It allowed me to do the things I wanted to do and fight relevant people.”

MAURO RANALLO: “Now, you do the things you want to do, I guess this entails still being active in Japan as a professional wrestler because you’re scheduled to return to the Inoki Genome Federation event September 25th against none other than Tim Sylvia in a pro-wrestling match. What do you make of this match-up?”

JOSH BARNETT: “Well, I’m not the best at carrying people, I’ll admit that so this is going to be just another opportunity for me to try to hone my skills as an all-around professional wrestler.”

MAURO RANALLO: “Why, when you talk about the relevant opponents, I mean Antonio Silva has been, you know, publicly petitioning for a fight against Fedor Emelianenko. Obviously, you know Fedor Emelianenko very well. You’re actually friends, but in terms of your Strikeforce debut, you know, you know how to cut a promo, you know how to call someone out. Who do you want to fight and when do you expect to make your Strikeforce debut?”

JOSH BARNETT: “You know what, it’s too soon to be calling anybody out, really.”

MAURO RANALLO: “But do you want to take on Fedor Emelianenko right away then? Let’s do it!”

JOSH BARNETT: “Well, I’ll take on anybody, you know. That’s my gimmick, right? Any time, anywhere, any place and I’ll see what Strikeforce has to offer up for me and you know sometimes, one of the reasons I don’t call people out anymore, I don’t bother because calling them out is one thing but if you are so insistent to fight that person, the only way to ensure it happens is just go walk up to him and go, hey, put your fists up because I’m going to start swinging on you in about five seconds. That’s the only way to ensure you’re going to actually fight anybody, it just doesn’t… You know, I’ve called people out before only to have it never materialize. I just give up on that.”

MAURO RANALLO: “What are the chances that you will make your debut before the end of the year? Of course I’m talking about the December card, the next major event after the October 9th event in San Jose.”

JOSH BARNETT: “I think it seems pretty good that I’ll make my debut in Strikeforce before the end of the year. I’d like to.”

MAURO RANALLO: “Interesting. OK. Well, what about the UFC Heavyweight picture, I know that you know you’ve now signed with Strikeforce, I know they’re happy to have you. What do you think of Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez and do you believe that the best heavyweight in the sport is, I mean you’ve got to, you know, you got to be the man, do you ever foresee a day when the UFC and other promotions will co-promote Heavyweight fights?”

JOSH BARNETT: “Never. It will never happen.”

MAURO RANALLO: “Will you ever foresee yourself going back to Zuffa?”

JOSH BARNETT: “Uh, you know, anything is possible. If they wanted to have the best heavyweight division in the world, they could have picked me up if they wanted to but it’s their decision. I think they’re happy with at least promoting it as the best division in the world, not saying they don’t have quality fighters but I think as long as they can control the image of it then that’s all that matters to them.”

MAURO RANALLO: “All right, I’m going to give you four names, pick one that you think you would match up best with first from a business standpoint and just from, you know, a personal standpoint. We got Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Antonio Silva, and because Fabricio Werdum’s injured right now, I’ll toss in the champion Alistair Overeem. Out of those four, who do you want first? C’mon.”

JOSH BARNETT: “You know, one thing that just seems to keep following me around like a bad small is a match-up with Andrei Arlovski, I don’t know why. It doesn’t matter whether he’s on a losing streak or a winning streak or Japan or the US, his name keeps popping up consistently. So I imagine he’s probably going to be the first on the list.”

Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 11 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

11 Responses to “Josh Barnett: Hey, a fight with Andrei Arlovski sounds good to me”

  1. 45 Huddle says:

    Is that the entire interview? If there is more, did Mauro once ask him about the steroid issue and him avoiding the commission on like 5 occassions?

    I can’t say I expect much else from Mauro who is a hack commentator at best.

    Hmmmm…. I wonder why the UFC won’t touch Barnett. Maybe because he is a 3 time offender and also royally screwed Zuffa in the past. Perhaps, just perhaps that has something to do with it.

    Barnett will try to play it off like he is some sort of great Pro Wrestling character in interviews…. But all he really is, is a liar and a deceiver of the truth to the point that he makes himself look like a fool.

    The great thing is, I don’t have to watch any of his fights in Strikeforce. And I really hope no commission allows him to fight.

    Ed — That was the extent. It was a short 5-minute interview.

    • DANGEROUS DAN says:

      I am in awe. In another Barnett thread, 45 is the first poster and imediately calls Barnay a liar, steriod user etc etc etc. While the facts are the facts and I am not disputing them, 45 Huddle, your playing cards are old and used up on this point. Can you deal a new hand please?

      • DANGEROUS DAN says:

        Really? UFC fighters are not always the best in the world, so you really need to separate yourself from that marketing delusion. Roids or not in his UFC career before the positive test he rip thru the competition. He is 15-4 since and beaten guys with a combined total of 301-171. Only two of those guys (Sato & Hunt)have losing records. 3 of his 4 losses were to Cro Cop when he was killing everyone not named Fedor. I have never disputed Barny’s drug issue what I have disputed is your familar bashing on the roid issue bing old hat and denying the body of work he has made since. There were 2 failed test post UFC which iirc did not negate any of his victories. If its legal in Japan you can’t blame him and that is where the most of his work is.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        That last post wasn’t me. Somebody is posting under the same name and trolling….

    • robthom says:

      “…he is a 3 time offender and also royally screwed Zuffa in the past.”

      He royally screws everybody he can every time.

      Affliction?

      Hello?

      If he’s not trashing a title, a main event or scuttling a promotion with his steroids, he’s being vastly over compensated to take aerobic/gimme fights against guys who nobody claiming to be the best should be fighting.

      The last time I saw anybody get close to their monies worth out of that POS he lost to a B+ level kickboxer 3 times.

      Good luck with that SF.

      I dont know how much he’s getting paid this time, but if its more than a bit its too much for fighting the shell of Arlovski.

      If you let this bunghole rob you like M1 robs you I’ll just have to assume that your doomed to fail and then kick back while I watch the wheels come off.

  2. Smithers says:

    Oh gee, what a surprise … the three-time cheater has decided he wants the easiest target out of the Strikeforce heavyweights for his first match.

  3. David M says:

    Arlovski is not a good matchup for Josh. Josh struggles with guys who have a lot of athleticism. Andrei (despite being born without a chin) is about 40x the athlete Josh is, has really good hands, good takedown defense, and has a decent shot to KO him.

    • Chuck says:

      Did you see AA’s last fight against Antonio Silva? AA’s reflexes were SHOT in that fight. And I highly doubt that was a one time thing.

      • David M says:

        I didn’t see the fight. If his reflexes are gone, then I rescind my post. I will try to find the fight online.

        • edub says:

          Chuck is right David. Arlovski looked HORRIBLE against “Big Foot”. His reflexes looked gone, and instead of taking advantage of the openings he used to jump all over, he looked too scared to get hit.

  4. Mark says:

    I just love how Mauro’s opening is WHY DID YOU SIGN WITH STRIKEFORCE?! and when Barnett gives a perplexed why not, he says WHY NOW?! Hilarious. Their own announcer came off like he’s burying them.

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