Josh Barnett remains patient, simply looking for the right deal
An update for those of you who are either fans of Josh Barnett or interested in knowing where his fight career may be heading.
Earlier this year, Barnett turned down an offer that the UFC made him to fight which would have offered him the opportunity to maintain his relevance and further build his name in the north american MMA market against bigger and better opponents.
Whether “The Warmaster” belongs in the top 10 heavyweights of MMA is arguable, but it’s undeniable that he is without a doubt an elite heavyweight worthy of fighting in the octagon and is ultimately in a league above most of the other heavyweights outside the UFC.
With that said, many fans have been wondering why he’s made the choices he has, what is going through his mind and what the future may hold for him.
Barnett recently spoke to Bleacher Report regarding all of these things and had the following to say about his current situation:
“For me, it’s more about getting the right kind of deal done. Because if I’m not fighting, I’m okay. I can do other stuff. I’ve got other things to do. I’ve got other aspects of my career to work on and to work with. I’m okay with that. I’m going to stay in the gym and stay training and stay active in martial arts. It’s not like I’m just going to drop off and all of a sudden have to get ready for a fight. What secures your future is what’s on paper. That’s all I can really count on. The time that it takes to get that correct is the time it’s going to take.”
And if you’ve contemplated at any point that Barnett may be holding any sort of grudge against any company or person in particular, you can scrap that idea. Barnett claims he knows his value and seems to be solely interested making the right deal as opposed to simply taking the first thing that comes to him:
“I don’t have any personal vendettas or anything of the sort with any of those companies. It’s really just a matter of coming to terms with something I feel like is the right deal for me. I have no doubt if I’m in the UFC or Bellator or wherever, that I’m going to bring value and offers to wherever I’m at. I don’t have any doubts how I would fare against anybody in the world. I’ve been in plenty of fights in the ring, out of the ring, and I know what I’m capable of and how good I am.”
Here’s hoping Barnett finds a home soon for the sake of the Heavyweight division and rankings. He may never be champion again, but he’s still got lots to offer his division and remains a handful for any heavyweight in the world.
