“We’ll fight each other”: Josh Barnett talks fighting Fedor next

Published on: 27th January, 2009

"We'll fight each other": Josh Barnett talks fighting Fedor next  | read this item

Barnett says Fedor fight will happen

With his impressive submission (Strikes) win over the always dangerous Gilbert Yvel at Affliction “Day of Reckoning” Josh Barnett set himself up as the next challenger to Fedor Emelianenko’s WAMMA Heavyweight championship. This has been a fight several years in the making as fans and writers alike have always said that Barnett’s style made an interesting clash against Emelianenko’s.  Now Barnett says that even he believes the two fighters will meet in the Ring.

SportsIllustrated quoted Barnett on his thoughts about fighting Fedor at the “Day of Reckoning” post fight press conference.

“We’ll fight each other,” conceded Barnett (24-5). “I’m sure of that because we’re professionals. If it can happen, it’ll happen. We’re just out there trying to be the best fighters we can be. That’s all that comes down to it.”

Fedor’s trainer and friend of almost 20 years Vladimir Voronov said that he feels that Barnett is a better fighter than Andrei Arlovski.

“Barnett is a thinking fighter,” explained the man who’s known Fedor for 20 years. “I think Barnett is much more dangerous than Arlovski. If Arlovski is a master in chess, then Barnett is a grandmaster.”

I cannot say I disagree that Barnett poses some interesting problems to Fedor, both love to grapple and are efficient on the ground (Fedor’s Sambo and Barnett’s Wrestling). They are both agile for Heavyweights and move fast on their feet. They are both decent strikers and can knock you out while standing on their feet.

We can compare them for hours, but the truth of the matter is that no one knows if there will be a third Affliction show for them to fight for. Hopefully; we will cause I think the company has a lot to offer in terms of quality MMA and can be a force in the sport. The only thing now that they must achieve is making a profitable show that will gain mainstream exposure.

 Narcisist is the Co-owner of UR Dirt and is the designer, editor and author. URDirt.com is a MMA blog that covers the UFC, WEC, StrikeForce, DREAM and several other Mixed Martial Art promotions. Read more from this author

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