Josh Barnett Thinks Title Fight ‘Could’ Be In The Future
Longtime heavyweight veteran and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh “Warmaster” Barnett got back in the win column last night with a third round submission victory over fellow former champion Andrei “Pitbull” Arlovski. At 38 years of age, Barnett is focused on taking one fight at a time, but he also isn’t ruling out another run at heavyweight gold. In fact, the “Warmaster” said he’d be willing to step in if current title challenger Alistair Overeem were to get injured ahead of his upcoming title fight with champion Stipe Miocic at September 10’s UFC 203:
“If (Alistair) Overeem got injured (prior to next week’s title fight against champ Stipe Miocic), Andrei or myself, there are some of us that can slide right in and fight in that match, and that’s completely legitimate,” Barnett said. “But the biggest thing we can control are the performances that lie in front of us, one at a time, and I’m sure a heavyweight championship fight could be in the future. But right now, all I was concerned with was fighting Andrei, taking him very seriously, and doing what I could to come out on top, and going from there.” Barnett told MMAJunkie.
As far as his fight with Arlovski goes, Barnett admits that he was never hurt, and he attributes his history of battles to his ability to endure punishment:
“I was never hurt in the fight,” he said. “That’s more due to having either an abnormally thick skull or very little brain matter to be damaged in the first place. I think if you look at the library of fights I’ve had, I’ve taken pretty much the best shots from the hardest strikers, and still stood in front of people. So taking a hard punch is not a big deal.”
While he may not have been hurt, Barnett was on the wrong side of a brutal eye poke, and Arlovski pounced in the aftermath of it, although the “Warmaster” holds no judgement towards the “Pitbull”:
“No, that’s his job,” he said. “The ref doesn’t tell you to stop, you’re not supposed to stop. (Arlovski’s) job is not to go out there and be my best friend; this isn’t the best-friend-making competition – this is the Ultimate Fighting Championship. I hold no grudges against him. He was grabbing the inside of my glove, too. Blatantly illegal. Don’t hold any grudges about it, in the least. Only disappointed I didn’t do it first.”
Who would you like to see Barnett face next?
