A list of interesting Josh Barnett facts

To say Josh Barnett was a good MMA fighter would be something of an understatement. Retiring from MMA with a 35-8 record in the Heavyweight division is a decent record to say the least. Remember, in this division getting knocked out is far easier compared to lower weights which makes sense when you think about it.

During this time, he made history – becoming the youngest UFC Heavyweight champion ever after knocking out Randy Couture. He also had wins against the likes of Andrei Arlovski, Frank Mir, and Dan Severn to name a few. In other words, he fought some of the greats where MMA is concerned and even his losses came from Mirko Cro Cop, Daniel Cormier, and Anotonio Nogueira.

What’s more – a whopping 19 of his wins came from submission. This means that he was possibly one of the greatest ever submission artists at this weight class which means his game was more varied than most who typically relied on knockouts instead.

Who trained Josh Barnett?

Josh Barnett is known for his catch wrestling style which is quite unusual when it comes to MMA. Catch wrestling originated from Britain and is a grappling style that is a cross between freestyle wrestling and BJJ. Here, he was trained by Billy Robinson. Interestingly, Robinson also coached Kazushi Sakuraba who is also another legendary MMA fighter. Robinson taught Barnett a number of takedowns and nasty submission holds.

Unlike BJJ, catch wrestling emphasizes being on the top position whilst on the ground and its rules dissuade practitioners to fight off their backs. So, Barnett was coached mostly by Billy Robinson but also trained striking and conventional wrestling under others due to Robinson’s knowledge primarily focusing on grappling rather than striking.

What belt is Josh Barnett?

Josh Barnett is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. To cut a long story short, this promotion was unconventional – but you can’t really claim Barnett wasn’t worthy of his black belt. If you’ve submitted 19 MMA fighters then you know a thing or two about grappling at an elite level.

Anyway, Barnett was given his black belt by 2009 by catch wrestling coach Erik Paulson. Apparently, this was honored by Rigan Machado and Barnett had previously dabbled a little in the gi whilst doing Judo. Back in 2009, it was unusual to give someone a BJJ black belt who trained without the gi, whereas these days it’s pretty normal.

What does Josh Barnett do these days?

Since retiring from MMA, Josh Barnett is still pretty busy and has a full schedule. Aside from his brutish image, he’s actually very intelligent and has a colorful personality outside of fighting. Read on for more information.

Josh Barnett plays Dungeons & Dragons

It’s not just the Stranger Things kids who love D&D. Yes, you read that correctly, Josh Barnett is an avid fan of Dungeons & Dragons. This is perhaps the least ‘cool’ hobby an MMA fighter could have – and it shows Barnett is certainly his own person. His friend Joe Rogan once called him a ‘dorky nerd’ which shows courage (or idiocy) on behalf of Rogan.

Interestingly, Barnett’s nickname is ‘The Warmaster’, which sounds intimidating but is also well at home when it comes to playing D&D

Josh Barnett owns a liquor company

Barnett isn’t the only fighter to have ventured into the liquor business – but he may have the best brand. In true Barnett style, his whisky is called ‘Warbringer’ which is a tribute to his nickname. This is a smoked bourbon and apparently, it’s meant to be pretty good. This may be due to the fact Warbringer isn’t a huge brand with big distribution which keeps the quality high.

Josh Barnett does Bloodsport

Perhaps one of Barnett’s most interesting ventures post-MMA is his Bloodsport events. Bloodsport acts as an indie professional wrestling promotion that also uses lots of catch wrestling too. Basically, Bloodsport is a throwback to what professional wrestling used to look like (unsurprisingly this eventually led to catch wrestling).

Anyway, it’s typically more gritty compared to pro wrestling events held these days and looks more realistic. This includes lots of grappling, realistic moves, and less of the flashy stuff. Sometimes, Barnett will even participate in these events and has occasionally done real catch wrestling matches too since quitting MMA.