he REALLY needed to get into the Grand Prix. Even if he wouldn't win the whole thing, a decent showing would put him back on the map. But doesn't he have a fight coming up against Sakurai or Minowa?
Jesus I hope you are joking.
yes, I was being sarcastic about Sakurai and Minowa, though I wouldn't be all that surprised. One of his most recent fights was against Yuki Kondo.
I dont blame Josh at all...
He had a deal with NJPW...
I dont expect him to break it for anything or adjust his schedule for Pride
Josh really should be in the mix over there.
Him not being in PRIDE is a huge mistake in my opinion.
Destiny waits for no one...
Josh not being in the GP is a huge mistake, just like him trying to extort extra money from the UFC was a huge mistake. The guy needs a manager that knows what he's doing
I remember hearing that Barnett wanted to be in the GP. I specifically remember him saying that it would not be a legitimate tourney without him. Maybe Pride wasn't too interested or didn't want to pay him what he wanted.
Barnett wasn't in the GP because he's contracted with Inoki. No way would Inoki let any of his fighters in Pride again.
BTW, I could be wrong, but MMA is not Barnett's top priority these days. Pro wrestling is. And for a long time puroresu fan like Barnett, that is a dream come true.
Barnett is the most overrated fighter ever.
"I specifically remember him saying that it would not be a legitimate tourney without him."
so he's a stand up comedian now?
bradu, Barnett is set to fight Uno next month
Josh said in February that none of his contracts would have prevented him from being in the GP, and that in fact he expected to be in it. I can only assume that he either asked for a ridiculous amount of money, or just thought better of it for other reasons.
Uh, why the hell would Barnett want to fight in Pride when he can make way more money wrestling? Everyone is working off the assumption that mma is the only possible career that anyone ever cares about. Maybe he doesn't care about fighting mma anymore. Maybe wrestling is more fun for him. Maybe he cares more about making money and not risking serious injury. I guess everyone here thinks that the UG's opinion of someone is the most important thing in the universe, therefore anyone who has a good showing in mma can never quit and take on another better career.
"Maybe he doesn't care about fighting mma anymore"
then why is he fighting in Pancrase?
That's why I said "Maybe" - implying that it is mere speculation.
i think the rest of your diatribe pretty much spelled out which side of the argument you were on
not sure about figures and stuff but if you have a choice of m.m.a for say $20,000,or pro wrestling for 10 times that figure i know which 1 any sane person would pick
Jason, I think you're trying to start an argument where one need not exist. I'm merely trying to point out that mma MIGHT not be everything to everyone. People are saying that he completely blew it, but maybe the money he's making wrestling was PROBABLY important enough to him that he did not think it would be worth it to break his contract to fight in Pride. Obviously he had some reason, I was just posting what I thought his reasons might be. I would've loved to have seen him fight in the GP, but if he didn't want to, I'm not going to say it was a horrible decision on his part. Upsetting to the fans - yes; "Blowing it?" - no.
lol, I'm not trying to start an argument dude. I'm just saying that its silly for you to say Josh talked himself out of the UFC championship, then fought for Inoki and then won the Pancrase title, then talked himself out of a spot on the GP, because fighting isn't that big a deal to him.
If it wasn't that big a deal, he wouldn't have fought 3 times since he left the UFC, that's all I'm saying.
I certainly see nothing wrong with choosing pro wrestling over MMA, but the fact remains that if a guy is going to continue to claim that he's the best fighter on the planet, he should try to prove it. I'm sure his payday in the GP would have been quite good, and the odds of being injured are much less than they are in pro-wrestling.