HONOLULU – Wait, is this MMA or pro wrestling?
Josh Barnett blurred the line between the two at Wednesday’s Bellator 235 open workouts.
Friday night, Barnett (35-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) faces off against Ronny Markes (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in the main event of the first leg of a Bellator two-night doubleheader.
But at the open workouts, “The Warmaster” had a different opponent, his own training partner.
What started out a typical open workout quickly escalated into something else entirely. After “trading blows” with his training partner, Barnett, whose history with pro wrestling included a recent stint as a color commentator on AXS-TV’s popular “New Japan Pro Wresting,” dragged the scuffle away from the designated workout mat.
Pretty soon, the two big men were tumbling on the grass. A giant energy drink cooler filled with ice was knocked over. A folding chair was dragged into the mix and promptly used. Eventually, Barnett picked his “foe” over his head and slammed him to the ground.
“Give me a three count,” Barnett screamed. Luckily, Bellator director of communications Danny Brener was present to land the three-count and declare Barnett the victor.
Check out the full video above, as well as some social media clips from MMA Junkie’s Dan Tom, below.
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