Josh Barnett

Barnett had wrestled and studied some kickboxing before leaving his home in Washington for the University of Montana; in 1996 he began training in Missoula under martial arts instructor Jim Harrison, whom he later described as hugely influential on him as a fighter.⁠[1]

On March 22, 2002, at UFC 36 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, he stopped Randy Couture with punches at 4:35 of the second round, at the age of 24.⁠[2]

This made him the youngest champion in UFC history at the time. After the bout the Nevada State Athletic Commission found three anabolic steroids in his sample and suspended him for six months, after which the UFC stripped him of the title.⁠[3]

On January 4, 2003, he challenged Yuji Nagata for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the Tokyo Dome in his first professional wrestling match.⁠[4]

He recalled that his old training partner Tsuyoshi Kohsaka was then doing some work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and that he soon found himself headlining the Tokyo Dome; he went on several NJPW tours through 2003 and 2004.⁠[5]

He has said that had he not been in Japan, he would never have come across catch wrestling figure Billy Robinson.⁠[6]

On August 31, 2003, he submitted Yuki Kondo with a rear-naked choke at 3:26 of the third round to win the Pancrase openweight title.⁠[2]

In the 2006 PRIDE open-weight grand prix, which many had favored him to win, he beat Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira by split decision in the semifinal but fell just short in the final against eventual champion Mirko Cro Cop.⁠[7]

Earlier he had knocked out Pedro Rizzo at Affliction’s inaugural show, avenging his first career loss, and stopped Gilbert Yvel in the third round of the promotion’s second show.⁠[8]

In July 2009 the California State Athletic Commission said his June 25 test was positive for anabolic steroids and denied him a license, removing him from the August 1 Affliction: Trilogy main event against Fedor Emelianenko.⁠[8]

The event was later cancelled. He appealed the license denial, with the hearing repeatedly postponed; he denies ever using anabolic steroids and has questioned the legitimacy of the California and Nevada test results.⁠[3]

On November 8, 2009, he won the black belt ultra-heavyweight division of the IBJJF No-Gi World Championship in Long Beach, beating Ralph Gracie student Bruno Paulista on the judges’ decision in the final.⁠[9]

In the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix he submitted Brett Rogers and Sergei Kharitonov with arm-triangle chokes; he also changed his nickname from “The Baby-Faced Assassin” to “The Warmaster,” saying he no longer looked baby-faced.⁠[10]

In the grand prix final in May 2012 he lost to Daniel Cormier.⁠[11]

In February 2013 his manager said he had officially declined the UFC’s latest contract offer; in May he signed a multi-fight deal, returning to the promotion after 11 years.⁠[12][13]

In his return bout at UFC 164 in Milwaukee he dropped Frank Mir with a knee from the clinch, prompting the referee to stop the fight; Mir protested the stoppage.⁠[14]

At UFC 168, Travis Browne caught him with a knee as he shot for a takedown and finished him with a series of standing elbows.⁠[15]

In July 2015, AXS TV renewed its multi-year deal to air New Japan Pro-Wrestling and announced that he and Mauro Ranallo would continue as its English commentators.⁠[16]

He beat Roy Nelson by unanimous decision after five rounds in a UFC Fight Night main event at Saitama Super Arena, his first fight in Japan since 2010.⁠[17]

In January 2016, Ben Rothwell submitted him with a guillotine choke at 3:48 of the second round at UFC on Fox 18.⁠[18]

On September 3, 2016, after a bloody exchange in the UFC Fight Night 93 main event, he submitted Andrei Arlovski with a rear-naked choke.⁠[19]

In December 2016 the UFC said USADA had notified him of a potential anti-doping policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on December 9, 2016, and that USADA would handle the case.⁠[20]

In March 2018 an independent arbitrator ruled that the failed test was caused by a legal supplement contaminated with Ostarine and imposed the minimum sanction of a public reprimand, whereas USADA had sought a four-year suspension; the process took about 15 months.⁠[21]

The ruling stated: “On the evidence before me, the applicant is not a drug cheat.” He then sued the maker of the supplement.⁠[22]

In June 2018 he confirmed that he had asked for his UFC release and that terms were being discussed; his main concern was his distrust of USADA.⁠[23]

In April 2019 he signed his Bellator contract on Ariel Helwani’s show; he had not fought under MMA rules since 2016, competing in grappling and pro wrestling in the meantime.⁠[24]

On April 4 of that month, Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport, presented by Game Changer Wrestling, was held during WrestleMania week; the event had previously been run by Matt Riddle, and Barnett faced Minoru Suzuki in the main event.⁠[25]

That main event ended in a time-limit draw; he was then booked to face Jon Moxley at Bloodsport II in Atlantic City on September 14.⁠[26]

Bellator twice booked him against Ronny Markes, and both fights were called off; Bellator signed off on his bout in a bare-knuckle boxing match allowing elbows under KSW’s Genesis banner.⁠[27]

On October 23, 2020, at Genesis, he beat Marcin Różalski by TKO via doctor stoppage.⁠[28]

On March 1, 2021, he appeared on episode #165 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast, which described him as an MMA fighter, catch wrestler and scholar of violence; topics included Nietzsche, good and evil, catch wrestling, anarchy, Karl Gotch, Mike Tyson, Fedor Emelianenko, the early UFCs and the film Blade Runner.⁠[29]

On October 1, 2023, on the pre-show of AEW WrestleDream in Seattle, he lost to Claudio Castagnoli in 8:15.⁠[30]

That month he brought a team of catch wrestlers to the Catch Wrestling World Championship and lost a decision to Owen Livesey in a featured match.⁠[31]

In February 2024 he drew with Phil De Fries in a grappling match at KSW Epic, decided by the judges after 10 minutes.⁠[32]

In April 2025, Gabe Kidd beat him in the closing bout of Bloodsport XIII and afterwards praised him as a pioneer.⁠[33]

On September 22, 2025, he announced he would face Oli Thompson at the Bloodsport event in London on September 28; before losing to Kidd he had been on a five-match winning streak in Bloodsport.⁠[34]

In March 2026 he announced he would face Yuji Nagata at Bloodsport XV, with a Bloodsport record of 11 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw at the time.⁠[35]

On April 17, 2026, in the closing match of Bloodsport XV at the Horseshoe in Las Vegas, he beat Nagata; the commentators noted that Nagata had beaten him in Japan 23 years earlier.⁠[36]

After the match he announced that Bloodsport would be put on hold for the foreseeable future; he had also taken the event to Japan and England.⁠[37]

He explained that the decision was not forced by any negative situation, but that the frequency of events under Game Changer Wrestling did not suit preserving the event’s identity and that he was unwilling to compromise on creative control.⁠[38]

His official biography lists the 2018 Snakepit Wigan super heavyweight world catch wrestling title and a second-degree BJJ black belt under Erik Paulson, and says his nickname “The Warmaster” comes from a song by British heavy metal band Bolt Thrower.⁠[39]

Personal website: Public link: https://www.joshbarnett.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[40]

X: Public account: https://x.com/JoshLBarnett (opens in a new window)⁠[40]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyZmZwQESO8G0BOSHTpZcvg (opens in a new window)⁠[40]

Instagram: Public account: https://www.instagram.com/joshlbarnett/ (opens in a new window)⁠[40]