Josh Barnett
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Early Career
Josh "Babyface Assassin" Barnett (born November 10, 1977) won his first professional MMA match on January 11, 1998 scoring a submission against Chris Charnos at UFCF's "Clash of the Titans" event. Returning again to fight for the UFCF, Barnett was awarded a disqualification victory in his bout against Bob Gilstrap.
After a near-eighteen month period away from Mixed Martial Arts competition, Barnett fought not once, but three times on a single evening in his next appearance. The occasion was three-tiered tournament put on by Icon Sport under the moniker Super Brawl 13. Defeating Juha Tuhkasaari by Armbar and then John Marsh via Kimura, Barnett earned his way into the final match. In the tourney's finale Barnett took home a decision win, beating Bobby Hoffman.
"The Babyface Assassin" found his next victory when he faced off with the legendary Dan Severn. In the fourth round of their battle Barnett caught Severn in an Armbar, winning the match.
Controversy In The UFC
In November of 2000 Barnett made his first appearance in the Octagon with a high-profile TKO win over Gan McGee. Barnett did not fair as well in his second UFC match, tasting his first defeat at the hand of Pedro Rizzo. Returning four months later for a UFC 32 bout with Semmy Schilt, Barnett once again scored a win via Armbar.
The next test for "The Babyface Assassin" was a rematch with Bobby Hoffman. This time, however, Hoffman did not last until a decision but rather succumbed to Josh's strikes, tapping out in the second round.
With two submission stoppages in a row Barnett was awarded a match for the then-vacant UFC heavy weight Championship. His showdown with Randy Coutureended with a TKO, and at the age of 24, Barnett became the youngest belt-holder in the history of The Ultimate Fighting Championship.
His reign was quick as he was stripped of the title when he failed a post fight drug test, showing positive for Boldenone. Despite his claims of innocence, Barnett was suspended from active competition and eventually left the UFC.
Journey To Japan
After parting ways with the UFC Barnett's first fight took place in the Tokyo Dome, where he was able to catch Yoshiki Takahashi in a combination Triangle Choke and Armbar. A rematch with Semmy Schilt had the same result as their first meeting, an Armbar win for Barnett. Another win, this time under the K-1 banner, followed and afterward Josh Barnett was contracted by PRIDE Fighting Championships.
His PRIDE debut would be the first of three losses to Mirko Cro CopFilapovic. Barnett was forced to submit in the first round, citing injury. Due to the circumstances in their first meeting, Barnett and Cro Cop agreed to a rematch at PRIDE 30. Again Barnett emerged the defeated, this time losing a unanimous decision.
Josh made his comeback in PRIDE submitting Kazuhiro Nakamura, Aleksander Emelianenko, and Mark Hunt. Winning with a Rear Naked Choke, Americana, and Kimura, respectively. This impressive run lead to a rematch with Cro Cop that saw Barnett tap to strikes just over five minutes into the contest.
Cementing himself as a top ten competitor in his next outing, Barnett came away with a split decision over former PRIDE champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Following a Toe-Hold submission on Powel Nastula Barnett would once again face Nogueira. The second meeting between "The Babyface Assassin" and "Minotauro" would result in a unanimous decision, this time in Nogueira's favor.
Sengoku and Affliction
After Zuffa acquired PRIDE, Josh Barnett signed on with the budding Japanese promotion, Sengoku Victory Road. At the organization's inaugural event Barnett caught Judo ace Hidehiko Yoshida in a Heel Hook scoring his fourteenth (!) win by submission. A second Sengoku match this one against Jeff Monson, resulted in a decision the judges unanimously ruling in Barnett's favor.
In July, 2009, Barnett fought Pedro Rizzo, knocking him out with a straight right hand at Affliction: Banned.
After initially being matched up against Andrei Arlovski in the main event of Affliction: Day of Reckoning, Barnett's opponent was changed to Dutch striker, Gilbert Yvel when the event was rescheduled to February, 2009. Barnett forced Yvel to submit from strikes in the third round in a dominant albeit lacklustre performance.
Mixed martial arts record
23-5
| 28 matches | 23 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 5 | 1 |
| By submission | 14 | 2 |
| By decision | 3 | 2 |
| Draws | 0 | |
One additional win by Disqualification.
Gallery
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