World Victory Road has scheduled former UFC heavyweight champion and PRIDE superstar Josh “The Babyface Assassin” Barnett (21-5) to face fellow UFC veteran Jeff “The Snowman” Monson (24-7) at Sengoku II on May 18 at Tokyo’s Ariake Coliseum according to the official Sengoku Web site.
In addition to being one of the most sought-after free agents in mixed martial arts (this side of the Iron Curtain), Barnett has already tasted victory at Sengoku I where he defeated Judo master Hidehiko Yoshida via heel hook back in March.
Aside from three losses to Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Barnett has only been defeated by two other men: Current UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira in 2006 and Pedro Rizzo way back in 2001.
Opposing him will be the venerable Monson, who last competed at PFP: Ring of Fire taking a unanimous decision victory over Holland’s Hakim Goram. Monson was riding a sixteen-fight win streak prior to being outpointed by Tim Sylvia at UFC 65.
No doubt submissions will be the order of the night. Monson has 15 of his wins coming by way of tapout and Barnett has 14. However if the Sylvia fight is any indication, Monson may have trouble with the distinct size disadvantage as Barnett towers over him by six inches.
The Sengoku II fight card as it currently stands is as follows:
- Kwang Hee Lee vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
- Satoru Kitaoka vs. Ian Schaffa
- Jorge Santiago vs. Yuki Sasaki
- Yoshihiro Nakao vs. Jim York
- Dan Hornbuckle vs. Mike Pyle
- Ryo Kawamura vs. Kevin Randleman
- Josh Barnett vs. Jeff Monson
- Roger Gracie vs. TBA
19 Comments »
I think Barnett has this one..But Monson will present alot of problems..
Barnett is to big and strong for Monson..
(IMO)Barnett via unDecision..or TKO…
Barnett will not submit Monson.
did monson’s ufc contract expire immediately after the sylvia fight? I know he fought once in pride after that (when UFC had already bought it i believe) and then he was just gone. Did they care for him so little that they gave him a title shot because there was no one else and then just cut him?
no dude he asked to be cut from contract and went to pride! he thought he would get fedor but he only got fujita
Mania’
I thought that Monson was fighting Randleman??
And also, I read an interview with Jeff Monson weeks ago, and he was saying he had four fights booked agianst Ricco Rodreguez, Kevin Randleman, Brad Imes, and Paul Buentello..
I have never heard of a contract like this before..
Maybe you can shed some light on this for me?..
I looked the interview up. Here is the link.
http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content2267.html
Stagger:
Randleman is penciled in to face Monson this June at the Global Fighting Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Thanks Jesse
Is the rest of what he(Monson) said in that interview true???Ricco,Imes and Buentello fights?
Word around here has it that Jeff Monson likes to talk out of his ass when interviewed. He was supposed to fight Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Fedor on multiple occasions according to him.
Josh Barnett is going to TKO his way to a win.
TKO is the most likely way it will happen, but Monson can take a beating..I think if not a TKO, Josh will win via unDecison..
john; Did you ever hear about “Monson’s 4 fights” I mentioned in my above post??
No, I have been looking for something about it since I read your post, but I cant seem to find anything.
this should be a great grappling match much like Barnett Nog.
As much as the Sylvia/Monson fight sucked, this is still a better Heavyweight fight than the UFC can put together right now.
haha true
JESH! I am definitely “nut-hugger” of Roger Gracie, I believe he is a future superstar in mma also. Great to see him fighting again!
Barnett/Monson….interesting, propably it’ll be a wrestling on a ground ending in the 2nd via Barnett’s kneebar.
TODAY is indeed a sad, sad, day for MMA. The sport lost one of its greatest stars. Charles “Tupperware” McCarthy has retired from competing in MMA.
I can only hope that my nickname for him sticks as he takes on his next venture in life…
Seriously?
Nice, I can’t wait for this event.
What’s the scoop in why the UFC is not interested in signing Barnett??
Unless your name is Tim Sylvia or Sean Sherk you will not get resigned by the UFc after a positive steroid test.