Widely considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight
practitioners of all time,
Josh Barnett
will take on KSW champion
Philip De
Fries in a 10-minute grappling bout at
KSW Epic this Saturday at PreZero Arena in Gliwice, Poland.
Renowned for his elite grappling, Barnett is a former International
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation world no-gi gold medalist, with wins
over the likes of
Dean Lister
and
Ryron
Gracie. Barnett also secured the super-heavyweight Catch
Wrestling World Championship held in England in 2018. Despite all
his achievements in other forms of martial arts, his mixed martial
arts career is what makes him stand out as a legend and pioneer of
the sport.
As the 46-year-old Barnett gets ready to compete, let us look at
five of the many moments that have come to define him:
1. Perfect Start
Barnett made his professional MMA debut at the age of 19 under the
United
Full Contact Federation banner on Jan. 11, 1997, in Washington,
where he faced
Chris
Charnos. Despite having taken the bout on just two weeks’
notice, Barnett walked away with a submission win in less than
three minutes. Following a memorable debut, the Washington native
went on to put up nine more wins with seven first-round finishes.
Considering his impressive record, Barnett signed with the
Ultimate Fighting Championship and made a successful debut at
UFC
28 on Nov. 17, 2000, securing a Round 2 technical knockout
victory over
Gan McGee.
2. Breaking Ground
After suffering his first professional loss in his sophomore UFC
outing, Barnett returned to winning ways with back-to-back finishes
to earn himself a shot a heavyweight champion
Randy
Couture at
UFC
36. While Couture managed to stifle the youngster’s offense in
the opening frame with his wrestling, the second round saw the tide
turn. The champion found himself on the bottom three minutes into
the second round after attempting to move to side control. Barnett
immediately unleashed an onslaught of ground-and-pound strikes on
his adversary, forcing referee John McCarthy to stop the fight with
only 25 seconds remaining. Barnett, the youngest champion in UFC
history at the time, would later be stripped of his title following
a second positive drug test. “The Warmaster” then parted ways with
the promotion, only to return 11 years later.
3. King Among Kings
Following a failed drug test that stripped him of his UFC title,
Barnett made his way to Japan, where “The Warmaster” found himself
competing for the openweight title on Pancrase’s 10th anniversary
show in August 2003. Going up against Japan’s
Yuki Kondo
inside the ring, Barnett put on a dominant showing with his
heavy-handed striking and grappling acumen. After outclassing his
opponent with his clinch work and ground-and-pound for the first
two rounds, the American successfully submitted “Sora” with a
rear-naked choke at the 2:36 mark of Round 3 to earn the Pancrase
openweight championship. The achievement saw him added to a short
list of fighters to have held titles in both Pancrase and the UFC,
such as
Ken
Shamrock and
Bas Rutten.
4. A Matter of Pride
Recognized as one of the top competitors in the sport at the time,
Barnett reached the finals of Pride Fighting Championships’
openweight grand prix tournament in 2006, recording victories
against the likes of
Mark Hunt,
Aleksander
Emelianenko and
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira. However, “The Warmaster” failed to secure the
victory in the final against
Mirko
Filipovic, succumbing to a Round 1 TKO loss. Despite the
defeat, Barnett’s exploits on the Japanese circuit remain a sight
to behold.
5. Back Home
Barnett returned to the American circuit on the heels of a
six-fight winning streak when he took on
Brett
Rogers under the
Strikeforce
banner in June 2011. The Washington native went on to compile a 3-1
record in the promotion, only losing to future UFC hall of famer
Daniel
Cormier. Following an impressive run in Strikeforce, “The
Warmaster” made his way back to the UFC in 2013 and ultimately
recorded three more impressive victories against
Frank Mir,
Roy
Nelson and
Andrei
Arlovski.