Josh Barnett vs. Ronny Markes is close to being rebooked.
Bellator is targeting the heavyweight bout for March 13 at Bellator 241. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the development to MMA Junkie on Thursday after an initial report from MMA Fighting.
The two UFC alumni originally were supposed to fight at Bellator 235 in December. However, hours before the two fighters were supposed to make the walk to the cage, Barnett (35-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) fell ill. As a result, his bout vs. Markes (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) was called off.
Barnett, 41, hasn’t competed in MMA in over three years. His last bout came against Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night 93 in September 2016. One of the pioneers of the modern heavyweight division, “The Warmaster” has been a professional since 1997.
At UFC 36 in March 2002, Barnett defeated then-champion Randy Couture by second-round TKO to earn the promotion’s heavyweight strap. His next UFC fight wouldn’t come until UFC 164 in August 2013. In the meantime, Barnett competed for numerous notable promotions around the world, including PRIDE, K-1, Strikeforce, and more.
His opponent, Markes, also is a UFC veteran. The 31-year-old Markes competed five times in the UFC from 2011-2014, but did so at middleweight. He compiled a 3-2 UFC record before he joined World Series of Fighting in August 2014.
In 2018, Markes competed in the inaugural season of PFL but didn’t make it to the postseason. In June, Markes competed in the PFL 2019. However, he was able to compete only once in the regular season and didn’t accumulate enough points for a postseason berth.
Bellator 241 will take place March 13 at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. The main card is expected to stream on DAZN after prelims on MMA Junkie.
With the addition, the Bellator 241 lineup includes:
- Champion Patricio Freire vs. Pedro Carvalho – Bellator grand prix quarterfinal bout for the featherweight title
- Emmanuel Sanchez vs. Daniel Weichel – Bellator grand prix quarterfinal bout
- Paul Daley vs. Sabah Homasi
- Josh Barnett vs. Ronny Markes
