MMA-Underground - Mixed Martial Arts Blog: Josh Barnett - More Than Meets the Eye (Josh Barnett Interview)

Josh Barnett easily falls in the category of MMA legend. He is the youngest UFC champion in history, having won the heavyweight title in 2002 at 24 years old. His opponent was none other than Randy Couture, whom he beat via TKO at UFC 36. Barnett is also the 10th King of Pancrase, something only an elite group of mixed martial artists can take claim to, and a title he is very proud to wear. Other winners have included Bas Rutten, and Ken & Frank Shamrock.

A former PRIDE and K-1 fighter, Josh is also a pro wrestler, having competed in the New Japan Pro Wrestling organization. He holds other notable wins over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Hunt, Aleksander Emelianenko, Hidehiko Yoshida, Dan Severn, Jeff Monson and Yuki Kondo. As if that wasn't enough, he appears in the XBOX360 video game 'Beautiful Katamari', and was the inspiration for the personality of the main character in Nintendo Wii's 'No More Heroes' game. Josh is currently the #6 ranked heavyweight MMA fighter in the world. Although his fight record stats surfacing the web show a record of (22-5-0), it should be noted that he has actually competed in at least 47 fights throughout his career. In other words, Barnett is one of the most skilled, accomplished and recognized heavyweight fighters around. You can also add catch wrestling master and a signature t-shirt with Affliction to his long list of achievements.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_wrestling

On July 19th, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, Josh will avenge his only KO career loss against fellow former UFC fighter, Pedro Rizzo. AFFLICTION: BANNED, the inaugural event of the newly Donald Trump backed MMA organization/clothing line, is destined to give the UFC a run for their money. This particular fight is a dream rematch for diehard MMA fans. To Josh, it's just another fight…one he plans on winning in devastating fashion.

I recently had the opportunity to hang out for a day at CSW Training Facility in Fullerton, CA, and then interview Josh over lunch. The inspirational quotes that adorn the gym walls are a sign of how passionate Josh and his crew are about everything they do. Watching him run his drills was like witnessing a freight train barrel through a cement wall at lightning speed. At 6'3" and 250 lbs, Barnett is pure raw power with no quit, and his teammates equaled that drive…even in the 100+ degree heat! It was a privilege to be there and meet everyone.

Also joining us over lunch was MMA fighter Ginele Marquez (8-7-1), who is preparing for next month's finals of the Smack Girl tournament in Japan. Speaking of female fighters, one of the coolest things about Josh Barnett is the fact that he constantly helps coach them. To date, Josh has trained a long list of respected women: Elite XC's Shayna Baszler, Ginele, Japan's Megumi Fujii, Roxy Balboa, & Shannon Hooper, to name a few. I find this extremely admirable and something he should be more recognized for, in my opinion. When asked how he got started doing this, Josh contemplated for a moment before answering.

"It probably started with high school wrestling. We had two girls on our team. It didn't seem out of touch to me. They were there to wrestle like everybody else, so the same attitude carried over when women wanted to start fighting. I always was a supporter of women's wrestling anyway."

In most cases, female fighters have a harder time getting the same respect that their male peers do. At a time when few top organizations even have or develop female divisions, many men still believe they shouldn't be allowed to fight at all. Josh takes a different approach to that theory.

"It's not even that so much", he says. "The promoters themselves treat them like second class citizens. They throw them a bone here and there, use them at their whim."

With Elite XC finally showcasing women's fights on SHOWTIME and CBS, one can only hope that we will continue to see a rise in popularity, acceptance, and fairer treatment for female fighters everywhere. Kudos to Barnett for helping those with true love and passion for this sport fulfill their dreams.

In regards to Josh's catch wrestling prowess, I asked him how he became so involved in the style and if he finds his skills to be a major advantage over his opponents.

"When I started training, whatever was available was available. I would just fight people wherever. Those were the Wild West days of MMA. There was no sanctioning. There were no outlets. I found Matt Hume running fights out of Washington and he was involved in Pancrase. He brought back that catch wrestling style from Japan and I just went from there. I feel that having it as my background gives me a much bigger advantage over ju-jitsu folks because they're all being taught the same stuff, the same way. In my opinion, a lot of times Jiu-Jitsu restricts itself. Don't do this, don't do that. You can't use these holds. Can't do that. In catch wrestling I never was restricted in any way, shape or form. There was no "too rough". There was no "off limits". Everything was go."
With the added techniques of catch wrestling, Josh feels he has developed a much broader arsenal and understanding. His favorite submission is the toe-hold.

Outside of the ring, Josh is a passionate music lover known for cranking his favorite heavy metal at shear volume during training sessions. (which I can personally confirm to be true!) Some of his favorite bands include: Arch Enemy, Bolt Thrower, Metallica, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, Pantera, Slayer, & Megadeth, who will be performing live at the AFFLICTION show next month. His love of metal even helped secure protege Shayna Baszler a sponsorship deal with ESP guitars, a top manufacturer in the U.S. known for endorsing the biggest metal bands in the world. This cross-promotion with the music equipment world is something no other fighter has done and not typically the norm in MMA sponsorships.

"I'm not trying to dip into the same resources everybody is taking money from. If you're fighting on television, all the fight people already know who you are. Find a way to get outside of that."

Josh and I excitedly talked shop about music and guitars for quite awhile during our interview. I myself, being a professional guitarist, had a blast chatting away about something I am so passionate about. To see that he shared the same passion and respect for music and musicians was very cool, since I have such respect for what he does.
On a side note, if you are a SIRIUS radio subscriber, be sure to tune into Hard Attack Radio 27 with Jose Mangin the week before Josh's fight. They are due to air his personal favorite metal picks during one of their shows. Some of Josh's other interests outside of fighting include video games, movies and his muscle car collection, chock full of Mustangs.

When I asked Josh if he gets approached by younger, aspiring male fighters often, of course the answer was yes. His advice to them on the business side of things was as follows:

"Don't do it for the money. The reality of it is, 85% of you will never make a living at it. A percentage out of that will never go anywhere with it for whatever reasons. It's not for me to debate why they can't succeed at it. It's always respectful and honorable to see a person go out and do the very best they can do, get to be the very best they can be. I'll never shit on a person for that."

I say, "It's a tough business."

Josh replies, "Absolutely. You gotta do it for yourself to be the best in your eyes, not for external sources."

Barnett clearly has an "outside the box" mentality in regards to fighting, the business and his sponsorships. Many people have mistaken his confidence for arrogance, but as I sat listening to him speak, I didn't see Josh in that light. He speaks with the ease and knowledge of a master. You can't help but respect the guy for his honesty, commitment, and passion. He's been around longer than most fighters with no signs of slowing down. When asked what his biggest goal was he replied, "I want to be the best fighter in the world."

Although only 30 years old and nicknamed "The Baby Face Assassin", those in the music business would emphatically call him 'vintage': characterized by excellence, maturity, and enduring appeal; classic. Thanks Josh!