After long negotiations, Josh Barnett finally confirmed his return to the UFC. The organization's former heavyweight champion signed a multi-fight contract and returns to his old home more than ten years later. The information was revealed by the USA Today newspaper and an official announcement is expected in the next few hours. Barnett's UFC debut should happen later this year.
Barnett was considered the most talented heavyweight in the world without a contract with any MMA organization. The American has been in this situation since the end of Strikeforce in January. He came very close to returning to the UFC in the first months of 2013, but the team that manages his career did not accept Dana White's proposal due to some details.
In the final Strikeforce event in January, Barnett had no difficulty beating Nandor Guelmino. Previously, he was runner-up in the famous Strikeforce heavyweight tournament, beating Brett Rogers and Sergei Kharitonov with ease, but was run over by Daniel Cormier in the decision.
The fighter is 35 years old and has been fighting MMA professionally since 1997. He debuted in the UFC in 2000, knocking out Gan McGee at UFC 28, but was violently knocked out by Pedro Rizzo at UFC 30. Barnett then went on to reel off three consecutive victories, the last over Randy Couture , at UFC 36, in 2002, which won him the belt. However, Josh's reign in the UFC heavyweight division was short-lived: he was stripped of his title after being caught in a doping test.
Barnett's career continued with the conquest of the Pancrase belt, runner-up in the PRIDE absolute GP, when he beat Rodrigo Minotauro e Mark Hunt on the way, and an ill-fated Affliction title fight against Fedor Emelianenko. The fight was canceled just a few days before Barnett was once again caught in an anti-doping test. The chaos caused by the cancellation of the fight, highly anticipated at the time, culminated in the bankruptcy process of Affliction Entertainment.
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