Strikeforce Signs Barnett
Brian Knapp Sep 13, 2010
Strikeforce on Monday added considerable strength to its
heavyweight pool, as the San Jose, Calif.-based promotion announced
the acquisition of former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett.
Terms of the multi-fight deal were not disclosed.
A catch wrestling practitioner, Barnett has secured more than half (17) of his 29 career victories by submission. The 32-year-old Seattle native posted his sixth straight win in July, when he stopped Geronimo dos Santos on first-round punches under the Impact FC banner in Brisbane, Australia. A finalist in the 2006 Pride Fighting Championships open weight grand prix, Barnett has not competed on American soil since he struck Gilbert Yvel into submission at Affliction “Day of Reckoning” in January 2009.
Victories against UFC hall of famers Dan Severn and Randy Couture, former Pride heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Olympic gold medalists Pawel Nastula and Hidehiko Yoshida anchor Barnett’s resume. He has been flagged multiple times for suspected steroid use.
“Strikeforce is the home of the best heavyweight division in the world, and I’m proud to be able to call it my home now,” said Barnett, who joins a promotional stable that includes champion Alistair Overeem, the great Fedor Emelianenko and UFC veteran Fabricio Werdum. “I’m looking forward to competing amongst the greatest fighters in the world and fighting my way to another world title.”
A catch wrestling practitioner, Barnett has secured more than half (17) of his 29 career victories by submission. The 32-year-old Seattle native posted his sixth straight win in July, when he stopped Geronimo dos Santos on first-round punches under the Impact FC banner in Brisbane, Australia. A finalist in the 2006 Pride Fighting Championships open weight grand prix, Barnett has not competed on American soil since he struck Gilbert Yvel into submission at Affliction “Day of Reckoning” in January 2009.
Victories against UFC hall of famers Dan Severn and Randy Couture, former Pride heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Olympic gold medalists Pawel Nastula and Hidehiko Yoshida anchor Barnett’s resume. He has been flagged multiple times for suspected steroid use.
“Strikeforce is the home of the best heavyweight division in the world, and I’m proud to be able to call it my home now,” said Barnett, who joins a promotional stable that includes champion Alistair Overeem, the great Fedor Emelianenko and UFC veteran Fabricio Werdum. “I’m looking forward to competing amongst the greatest fighters in the world and fighting my way to another world title.”
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