The last time we saw Josh Barnett, it was March of 2002 and he had just defeated Randy Couture for the UFC heavyweight title. You probably know the rest of the story; Barnett would pop for steroids and be stripped of his title. Then, Barnett would go on to fight for, and be quite successful within, Pride, Sengoukou, Dream and Strikeforce, all the while acknowledging that the UFC is where he wants his final run to be. Barnett may have lost to Daniel Cormier in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finals, and Cormier may have just beat up on Frank Mir on FOX, but a dream match that has been yearned over for years is finally a reality. Last week Josh Barnett was signed by the UFC, now Barnett and Mir wil scrap at UFC 164 in Milwaukee.
Both men match up well, Barnett is 6 foot 3, s50 pounds, while Mir is 6 foot 3 255 pounds. Both have good, developed hands that have proved well for them in the latter half of their careers. Barnett has 8 knockouts, Mir 3, and Barnett has 19 submissions to Mir’s 9. Considering Barnett has almost twice the fights Mir has. and the fact that Barnett has faced “lesser” competition out there slightly skews the numbers, but a win is a win.
Barnett is more experienced on paper, but it’s not like Mir is going to get the Octagon jitters. Mir is 34-years-old (and on TRT!) while Barnett is 35 and has the steroid aura following him ever since his second time testing positive at Affliction. All said and done, this fight is unbelievably close in just about every category, and I as a fight fan couldn’t be more happy that this fight was made. Two old-school UFC heavyweight champions, evolved and looking to kick each other’s ass. I love it. It makes sense, it should happen, and I’m glad it’s happening.
