Josh Barnett let out his inner pro wrestler for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. With antics that started on Thursday during the open workouts and ended with his post fight promo, Barnett not only advanced in this tournament, but may have made himself the fan favorite. But whether you like his antics or not, you can agree that he was surely effective in completing one more step towards his goal, and putting on a show while doing so.
Barnett stood across the cage from the heavy hitter Brett Rogers and executed a great game plan. He quickly lifted his opponent off the ground in the first round and took him straight to the mat. From that point on, he smothered and outgrappled Rogers in what became a catch wrestling clinic. The second round was more of the same, as Barnett quickly mounted Rogers once again, and finished the bout with an arm triangle.
While the outcome of the fight went along with expectations, it was hard not to be impressed by Barnett, who had been away from the cage for nearly a year. He walked in and dominated the bigger (albeit less experienced) Rogers from start to finish, and earned his 18th submission victory.
Barnett is one of the few fighters in the sport who could behave the way he does and come away with more cheers than boos. In professional sports, the “arrogant” athlete is normally jeered by the masses; Barnett is proving to be the exception. This past week at the open workouts he had reporters laughing as he and his trainer fought as if Barnett was seeking the WWE heavyweight title rather than the Strikeforce Grand Prix title.
After his defeat of Rogers, Barnett went on a rant that should have pleased the MMA fans that dabble in professional wrestling, capping things off with a line about standing on top of a pile of skulls and holding gold; even the late “Macho Man” Randy Savage would have been impressed. Barnett is exactly what the mainstream MMA fan has come to long for and enjoy. The fighters that talk the best, while not necessarily fighting the best, have gained another tool to market themselves with. If Barnett plays this role correctly and continues winning, he could quickly become an even bigger star than he already is.
Up next for the former “Baby Faced Assassin” and now “War Master” is Sergei Kharitonov, who knocked off Andrei Arlovski in his first round tournament bout. Kharitonov is much more experienced than Rogers, and has a solid resume that includes wins over Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum. Barnett is expecting a tougher challenge against the Russian, but he still believes that the victory is going to be his. In his words, “I know I’ve got the tools to beat him as well. It’s just going to be a different look.” It remains to be seen whether Barnett can back up his words, but because of his outsized personality, we should expect a few more pairs of eyeballs locked in to see it. Oh, yeah!
I agree with this though many people were critical of the win, and of the post fight interview. I guess that is to be expected.