Former UFC heavyweight champion and PRIDE superstar Josh “The Babyface Assassin” Barnett (21-5) will face fellow UFC veteran Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo (16-7) on July 19 at the first mixed martial arts event under the Affliction banner according to reports from both Sherdog and MMAWeekly.
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 where he defeated Judo master Hidehiko Yoshida via heel hook back in March.
Now he gets to a chance to avenge his first career loss when he faces the heavy-handed Brazilian who knocked Barnett out way back at UFC 30 — more than seven years ago.
Aside from that loss to Rizzo, Barnett has only been defeated by two other men: Current UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira and three losses to promotion-hopper Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.
First however “The Babyface Assassin” must concentrate on his upcoming bout against Jeff Monson at World Victory Road’s Sengoku II on May 18.
From Barnett:
“I said after he knocked me out with one of those really nice, well put together Pedro Rizzo right hands, I stood right there for the challenge and said you know what, I’m going to come back here, I’m going to fight him again and next time I’m knocking his ass out. So I’ve got to make good on my promises and I’ve got to stick to my word. As much as I love my buddy Fedor, it’s going to suck for him because I’m stealing the show.”
Rizzo has fought sporadically since his UFC days and despite having hands of steel, is a mediocre 5-6 since his first match with Barnett. Still, “The Rock’ is on a two-fight winning streak, having outpointed Justin Eliers at Art of War 1 last March and stopping Jeff Monson at Art of War 3 in September.
From Rizzo:
“I was hoping to face him due to the fact that he is one of the top five heavyweights, a very tough guy. This is my chance to return to the top, and I will seize it the best way. I was training all the time and relaxed last week. This Monday I came back, and now there are 11 weeks to the fight. I think it’s the perfect time to get well technically, get in order and make a great fight. I think this fight should be better than [the first]. Our fight was seven years ago and was very good. Today Josh is a much better fighter than at that time, as am I. I think the public can expect a big fight again.”
Whether or not he’s been competing at a high enough level to once again topple Barnett remains to be seen. Barnett’s personality may not be for everyone, but there is no denying he is one of the sport’s elite heavyweights and a very complete fighter.
The Affliction event is headlined by former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) vs former UFC heavyweight champion Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia (24-4). Matt Lindland is also rumored for the card but an opponent has yet to be named.
38 Comments »
isnt barnett foghting monson soon, like later this month in world victory. thats like 2 fights in about 7 or 8 weeks time. not much time off for barnett to recover and get back into training, especially since he only usually fights like twice a year. not to be a party-pooper but i’ll believe in when i see it.
In 2006 he fought like 14 times in 16 months or something crazy like that….so this isnt anything strange to Josh. its not like Rizzo is a cardio machine or anything
yeah old hizzo aint what he used to be, so i guess its not that far of a stretch. monson is still a gamer though, i think their friends right . maybee he’ll take it easy on josh.
i think barnett gots both these fights, although monson is in better shape than rizzo i think barnett has more to worry about with rizzo than monson.
Hey john, did you see my question about aleks emelianenko? Can he get a work visa to come to the states? He’s a convict and thug, would the government let him come here to fight?
No Idea! Good question though. My guess is that someone in his management would have already gotten clarification about that since he was a part of the Fedor negotiations with the UFC. Dana tried to low ball him, but that did mean that Dana offered him a contract. I am sure Dana has all the bases covered and he wouldnt have offered anything with out getting clarification about that 1st.
That leads me to believe that he will fight in America, but its a valid question, that legally I know nothing about.
damn i jusrt read the whole post. may 18. so i was close w/ 8weeks.
is this goin to be on hdnet or something like that ?
no they pulled out. but that could change any minute.
REALLY? I thought that was all set.
no for real. cuban and hd-net pulled out all together.thats why ther are trying to change the fight site from dallas to anaheim. cuban wouldnt even let them use his arena. airing it on hd-net could change back just as well, but this whole fight card is still a big if. i really wanna see fedor/tim so i will try and think positive.
VM. if you have time go back and read comments by A BADGUY. on the randy couture video blog from yesterday. that will explain evrything in detail and seems 100% accurate imo.
I posted a link yesterday. It’s what I was trying to say, ie. don’t get your hopes up. The fight card sounds great, but this is a fledgling organization trying to put out a supercard! There are many questions: can they afford it, how will they pay the fighters if they air it for free, where will it be held, etc. Randy is probably praying it doesn’t happen, if Timmy KO’s Fedor, the randy/fedor fight loses it’s luster
i’m personally tired of barnett. hopefully rizzo repeats his first KO even though it’s highly unlikely, but i still want it.
if Rizzo wins that would be awesome. It would be 2 wins over very good heavyweights in a row. Monson and Barnett
as much as I like rizzo, I don’t think he has any chances against barnett. Rizzo said something correct in one of his sentences and then went on to say something incorrect in the same sentence:
“Today Josh is a much better fighter than at that time, as am I
Josh is a much better fighter than he was 7 years ago, Rizzo however, is not. He’s past his prime and can’t see him winning at all.
yup. Rizzo is washed up. easy win for Barnett.
sweet, it will be shown on HDnet.
Question for the board:
Why is Barnett so disliked personality-wise?
Beats me! Personbally Barnett is on eof my favorite fighters. His fights and his personality entertain me. Barnett is one of the meanest submiossion fighters around, and he is so skilled. People sometime look at him like an average submission wrestler, but he is so much more then that. He has fought in every organization under the sun!
In my “humble” oppinion: If Barnett came into the UFC today, he would destroy every heavyweight with the exception of Nogueira. Barnett vs. Nogueira 3 (rubber match) in an Octagon for the UFC HW title would be awesome. (5 rounds of Nog and Josh!)
Suicks for us that we wont get to see Josh in the Octagon, due to another one of Dana Whites, infamously petty beefs with fighters. I think its a damn shame to not have Josh in the UFC.
BTW, He is going to destroy Pedro!
i say a.a. would knock him cold, just lioke rizzo did. he couldnt take andre down, so he would have to stand. he he’s not used to fighting guys like a.a. 14 times in 16 months. barnett claims he turned down the ufc. his last fightin the ufc he tested positive for roids against randy and has fought in japan prety much ever since. im not sold on he could destroy everyone in the ufc right now, you thought the same thing about cro-cop.
Andre is not the same. I actually disagree’d with your post and agreed with John’s for the most part UNTIL, Cro Cop was mentioned…
Good point. Shogun as well. For some reason not everyone can trasition to fighting in Japan to fighing in the States.
I agree that not everyone can translate into fighting in American mma, but Josh is not one of them. He was after all, UFC heavyweight champion (I know its tainted). He has fought EVERYWHERE!
As for cro cop, when he signed with the UFC I was thrilled, and I expected big things out of him. Keep in mind that was at a time where the heavyeight division was trash. Arlovski the “pitbull” was fighting like a puppy. Sylvia was also at his worse. Gonzaga was a nobody. Kongo looked like crap. hearing was undedicated fat, and out of shape (until I bet against him and he showed up like superman against Kongo…My bad VM). There was nobody in the UFC at that time.
Also we cant say that all of mirko’s dissapointment is due to the UFC’s talent, some is, but on the other hand….we never really got to see the real Cro Cop. For instance the Cro Cop who showed up to fight Nogueira in 2003 could have been successfulf in the UFC. So could the cro cop that showed up to loose to Fedor in 2004. Mirko even looked great in 2006 winning the Grand Prix, but I dont think the best version of cro cop ever stepped inside of an octagon.
No excuses, he was a bust. I was wrong, but I doubt that I was the only 1.
If Cro Cop wants to get back on a winning streak he should just book another fight against Barnett! He is Barnetts Kryptonite. Like Rampage is to Chuck, and Chuck is To Tito! He should fight Barnett again to try and get some confidence back!
I agree with you 100%. Dana is @sshole for not having Barnett in the UFC as well as Lindland. He is without doubt one of the best in the world and would definately have been UFC Champion. I have always thought that he was better than Randy and would looked forward the rematch. Dana talks about doing thing for the fans, the fans want to see the best fighting the best. Dana is complete wanker who happned to be in the right place at the right time.
“Question for the board:
Why is Barnett so disliked personality-wise?”
Because he beat everybody’s hero Randy Couture for the HW belt. He got the boot from the UFC for testing positive for roids. Ever since, he likes to run his mouth about how he is better than every HW in the UFC and he would beat them all given the opportunity. In other words, he likes to talk the talk. But lucky for him, he can usually walk the walk.
guys i think that barnett wouldnt destroy but possibly win in the ufc are. a.a. if he re-signs, vera,werdum.kongo,herring a rejuvinated frank mir, and even gonazaga(as long as he stops him in the 1rst rnd, cuz g.g. is the best 1 rnd fighter alive). but it’s all pretty redundant to speculate on these fight since barnett probably wont ever fight in the ufc again. its like me saying a.a would have destroyed everbody in pride if he had fought there. its an immpossible if.
Its unfortunate that because of one of Dana’s petty beefs, we probably wont get to see Josh in the UFC again.
All I got to say, is that in the mainstream fans eyes, Barnett does NOT get the credit that he deserves.
i agree w/ this statement, at least the part about not getting enough credit. its alot better than saying he would destroy every hw in the ufc, on the same night, at the same time, while eating a ham sandwich.ha!
I just think he is on the Elite Level that Fedor and Nogueira are in.
If the rematch happened today, I do not think Randy would win that fight and I would give Barnett a better chance then any heavyweight on the UFC’s roster to beat Nogueira! After all, they are 1-1 against each other. Barnett wining in the 1st fight at the absolute Grand Prix (split decision) and Nog winning the second match at shockwave 2006 (which was released to DVD yesterday) by unanimous decision… Great dvd by the way…Melendez vs. Kawajiri was a classic as was Barnett vs. Nog….Shinya Aoki’s gogo plata over a hell boy (with hair) was awesome as well. Its a pretty good DVD, and for the new mainstream fans that havent seen a PRIDE event…check it out.
Did anyone happen to watch the opening ceremonies of Shockwave 2006 DVD? I was laughing my ass off earlier when I watched it. Pride is famous for starting their events with the traditional Japanease warrior beating on the drums. This event starts with an oiled down almost naked man beating on the drums wearing nothing but that Japanease diaper/thong thingy lol (sorry for my cultural ignorance). The camera gets a better shot and his face is revealed….It was Nobuhiko Takada…I was LMFAO! so Funny!
Three Bucks says this folds.
i cant afford to lose 3 bucks right now so no bet. losing the hd-net deal might be a blessing in difguise though. i think only mostly hardcore fans are interested in fedor/tim and from what ive read most cant get it, and i think alot would pay to see it(hardcore fans) on ppv. but it actually hapening is still a great big IF!
Yes! Can’t wait to see this fight! None of my buddies even know who Barnett is, and I’m always trying to tell them how good he is, but they all think Couture’s the best HW in the world still. Poor uneducated UFC fans that they are have to get out of the mainstream. lol
You hit the nail on the head there. UFC fans, not MMA fans. There is a huge difference.
rizzo is passed it, did you see him get destroyed by kharintov in pride
it’s to bad this is 2008 & 2003, because this would have been better 5 years ago.Josh has improved , Pedro hasn’t. i would like to see the winners of these 2 Hwt fights go against each other. Josh or pedro against either the Maineiac or fedor would be awesome.
the MAINEIAC by KO
the Baby Faced Assasin by sub.
Does the winner get to fight Tim Sylvia for the Heavyweight Love-handles Championship of the world?
I think this is a foolish match for Rizzo to take. He holds one of the most legendary KO’s in MMA history over Barnett at UFC 30, In my opinion the greatest KO in UFC full stop. The only conclusion I can draw is that he really needs the money as barnett is an animal thats 100% on top of his game. Unfortunately Pedro is not and got destroyed by Kharitanov who’se in my opinion not as tough as Barnett. I’m hoping for a great fight but I know its going to be all Barnett.
In response to the above comment:
How can any one call rizzo foolish for taking a fight against argubally one the top 3 hw’s in the world? If rizzo win’s this he’s back in the big time. Rizzo knocked barnett out once before in spectacular fashion, when barnett was on a tear, and he can do it again. If you’ve ko’d someone before your confidence won’t be lacking in a rematch…
I know Kharitonov made rizzo look washed up when they fought but I put rizzo’s performance down to ring rust, he hadn’t fought in a year and then went up against a top hw when he should have had a few warm up fights first. The zentsov fight didn’t prove anything either. The punch from zentsov would have ko’d big nog…
I’ll be cheering for rizzo and hope barnett is stupid enough to keep the fight standing again…