DUBLIN – “The Warmaster” would like to see Bellator go old school if it was to do another heavyweight tournament.
Speaking to MMA Junkie and other reporters at Bellator 227/Europe 4, Josh Barnett, who recently signed with the promotion, said he wouldn’t mind taking part in a tournament but under one condition.
“If we’re doing a tournament, it’s one night,” Barnett said before deadpanning. “We’re too old if you stretch us out over the rest of the year. We might get geriatric, senile, forget where we’re supposed to be. Maybe our social security kicks in, so now we don’t actually want to fight anymore. We can get that good government money, I don’t know.
“But if we’re going to do a tournament, we got to do it all in one night. Let’s do it like the real men used to do. Stop all this (expletive), the commissions out there. Trust the men that go out there. We can go.”
A former Pancrase openweight grand prix champion and PRIDE openweight grand prix finalist, Barnett is no stranger to grueling tournament settings, which is why he’d like to see numerous fights on one night and having longer rounds if possible.
“Let’s see three fights, 5-minute rounds, three 5-minute rounds a piece each night, or each fight,” Barnett said. “We’re fine. Hell, I think 5 minutes is not enough time. I think we need 10-minute first rounds at the very least.”
Barnett, the former UFC heavyweight champ, hasn’t competed in over 3 years after a long dispute with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. He’s yet to make his Bellator debut but could return to action before the the end of the year.
