Barnett: Cain is good, SF tourney winner better
Josh Barnett, an entrant in the tourney, understandably thinks the world’s No. 1 heavyweight will be the winner of Strikeforce’s…
Josh Barnett, an entrant in the tourney, understandably thinks the world’s No. 1 heavyweight will be the winner of Strikeforce’s upcoming and star-studded heavyweight grand prix,.
“I’m not saying that Velasquez isn’t any good. I think he’s showing great skills as an MMA fighter, and his development has come along really well. He’s looking really tough.”
“I don’t think one fight makes you Fighter of the Year. I’ll go on record and say Nogueira is punchy now. He’s a guy who lived on his chin in terms of fighting, and he could take inordinate amounts of punishment and survive. But your body has such a limitation for that, and eventually you can’t take shots like that and weather the storm and come back.
“Your brain has just been battered way too much, and with Nogueira, I think that’s the case.”
“I really think this one is more solid all around (than the legendary 16-slot PRIDE 2006 Open-Weight Grand Prix) because everyone’s a true heavyweight in it and everyone has quite a notable pedigree, even the newer guys.”
So will the winner be the world’s best heavyweight?
“Absolutely … Absolutely.”
“Thankfully, I finally got the easier side of things,” he joked. “But honestly, I don’t know. I expect nothing but the best from my opponent.
“[Rogers] certainly is dangerous. He’s a big, powerful guy. He’s going to be looking for any way he can exploit his strengths and big punching power.”
“There’s some things I need to figure out … with counsel and Strikeforce, and also, I need to hear something from the commission, as well, in terms of what exactly they intend to do or want. I definitely don’t want to spend my time and fly up there to be ambushed.”