Barnett didn't mince words when talking about Antônio Silva. Photo: Esther Lin/Strikeforce
The Brazilian Antonio Pezão He never hid the fact that he would like to face Josh Barnett, with whom he had a series of problems behind the scenes at the now defunct Strikeforce. However, the idea doesn't seem to please the veteran at all. When asked about his interest in facing Pezão, Barnett harshly criticized the man from Paraíba and even stated that he would not help him gain visibility with a hypothetical fight between them.
“Here’s the thing: if you really don’t like someone, most people think, ‘Well, then you might as well itch to go up to the cage with them. Look, going to the cage is a privilege. You will make money fighting with me. You'll gain notoriety even after I smash your face in and all I'm doing is improving your life if you can look beyond the smashed face. I'm not going to try to help this guy. I don’t like him and I don’t like the way he handled everything he did in his Strikeforce days at all,” said Barnett, in an interview with “The MMA Hour” podcast.
Not satisfied with the criticism, Barnett still disrespected Pezão and reiterated his position. “I had never even talked about this guy. He came with all this nonsense, made all this noise. So my response is: ‘F*ck him’. I will not help you gain any space in any way, not even by losing to me. I'm not going to help you make money. I won’t fix anything for him if I can”, shouted the veteran.
At 34 years old, Antônio “Pezão” Silva has a record of 18 wins, five losses and one draw. The heavyweight hasn't fought since December last year, when he drew with Mark Hunt, but ended up caught in the anti-doping test and received a suspension. Josh Barnett, 36 years old, has 33 wins and seven losses. The former heavyweight champion is coming off a loss to Travis Browne at UFC 168.
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